


Clinging to the Eye of the Hunkicane

by SimplyEssa



Series: Bug Bites Galore [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Claustrophobia, Claustrophobic Hunk (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Cuddling & Snuggling, Don’t like it don’t read it, Emotional Hurt, Everyone knows it, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Humour, Hunk (Voltron) POV, Hurt Hunk (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Jacket sharing, Keith (Voltron) Does Have Emotions and Does Cry, Keith (Voltron) is a Cuddler in hiding, Klunk - Freeform, Korean Keith (Voltron), Multi, My aspect of the Love Bug AU, Non-Consensual Cuddling, Non-Graphic Violence, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Pining Hunk (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Please don’t kill me me, Pre-Established Klance, Protective Hunk (Voltron), Protective Lance (Voltron), Pure and Innocent Hunk (Voltron), Secret Relationships, Touch-Starved, Vomiting, Worried Hunk (Voltron), but its needed, different aspect of a love bug au, i need this for my endin, it's a bit different from your normal love bug au tho, keith can’t have dmotions, keith must be protected at all times, lance is a dick with love bug toxin in him, love bug au, no link inside, yes i know hes pure i’m a sordy for hurting him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-07 20:25:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12240030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyEssa/pseuds/SimplyEssa
Summary: Hunk got to the bridge just in time to see Keith storming off, the only glance given to him a scowl.He entered the bridge with a worried expression, only to find Lance on the floor, wheezing as Coran inspected his face with an arm wrapped around his stomach.“Uh,” Hunk coughed, ignoring the fact that he’d grabbed Lance’s attention. Lance beamed brightly, stomach forgotten, as he leapt to his feet and hugged the breath out of Hunk. “What happened?”“Keith found out about the venom,” Coran answered him, moving to the door. “It did not go over well.”~Or; My aspect on a Klunk Love Bug AU no one asked for.





	Clinging to the Eye of the Hunkicane

**Author's Note:**

  * For [0bother](https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bother/gifts), [ColdToTheBone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColdToTheBone/gifts).



> FORGIVE ME IF IT SEEMS OFF, IVE NEVER DNE hunks pov before, and the writing kind of switches between past tense and present- i started trying present halfway through and now past sense seems weird but im too lazy to change it.  
> this klunk love bug au are for a few friends  
> when i first started writing this, i didnt exactly like klunk, but i didnt hte it.  
> now i am in love with nearly as much as i am with klance.  
> this is my own love bug aspect  
> its kind of the same, but kind of not.  
> youll see.  
> im not putting the link, youve all seen it.  
> enjyo!

"Keith, answer us!"

Hunk could see Lance pacing the small space behind them.

They were still waiting on the purple field, still waiting for Keith to show up.

Keith, Lance and Hunk were sent to the planet Effecygab to gather supplies for a healing gel Coran could make. This way, whenever they got a minor injury, they wouldn't have to be put in a pod, or have to deal with it for too long. It was a purple flower, located beneath a white tree with red, velvet leaves. They were told that the air was breathable for them, but Keith, being the over protective kid he was, told them to leave their helmets on. Lance had snorted and gave him a sly remark, but Keith had just laughed and said leave it on. Hunk knew they were dating, and he knew they were keeping it secret. When he asked Lance about it, Lance had screeched, turned bright red, and jumped on Hunk, covering his mouth with his hand. He made Hunk swear that he wouldn't tell anyone, especially not Shiro, because they might make them break up, seeing as they're in the middle of a war (Hunk, being the best friend he was, didn't blurt out that he liked Keith. Lance would've broken up with him if he knew his best friend loved Keith. And it probably wouldn't help that he liked both of them). They had come in the Yellow Lion, but separated to find more of the plants faster. There was nothing dangerous on the planet, so it should've been safe.

Should’ve was the key word.

They had set a time to come back: An hour and twenty minutes to find the purple flower. If they didn’t find it, it didn’t matter. They were supposed to come back anyways.

Hunk got there five minutes early, two bags filled to the rim with their petals.

Lance came a few minutes after, one half full bag in his hands.

They spent the next ten minutes waiting for Keith.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And wai-

“For fucks sake,” Lance growled, dropping the bag of flowers. He formed his bayard and marched towards the forest that Keith went in. “I’m going to find him.”

Hunk nodded, dropped his bags, and followed him in. He turned on his wrist computer thing (Pidge installed it- it’s some sort of tracker.), and scanned for Keith’s armour.

After a few worrying seconds, a faint red blip appeared on the screen.

”Tell me the direction,” Lance said, his fingers twitching around his blaster. He had it raised to his face, listening for any potential danger.

”Keep walking forwards,” Hunk told him, matching Lance’s stride. “He’s close.”

”Is he moving?”

Hunk looked down, frowning at the dot. “No.”

Lance bit his lip, then broke into a run.

Hunk ran after him, scanner still open.

”Keith!” Lance yelled, jumping over a branch.

”Turn l-“

Lance stopped abruptly, almost making Hunk topple over him. Hunk yelped, tripping over his own feet in an attempt to stop himself. 

“Hunk,” Lance breathed, dead serious. He crouched down and pulled something from underneath some leaves. “Hunk.”

“What is-“ Keith’s helmet. “Oh no.”

”H-“ Lance choked on his own words, his hands shaking. “His visor is cracked, and th-there’s blood on the inside- and Hun-Hunk-“

”We’ll find him,” Hunk assured, despite the blossoming panic in his stomach. “He’ll be okay.”

Lance nodded sharply, bottom lip trembling. “Okay.”

“He’s not far,” Hunk helped him up, pushing him into the direction of Keith. “Just a few more-“

Just like he thought, Keith was a few feet away.

Not all of him.

“No- no, no, no-“ Lance ran to him, burying his arms into the blue mud.

Keith’s arm, up to his elbow, was sticking out of it, hand hung limply in the air. They couldn’t see any other part of him.

It looked like it was... sinking?

Oh.

Oh no.

”Lance!” Hunk shouted, rushing to his friend. He wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist and pulled, freeing his arms of the quick sand in the process. “Lance, don’t- It’s pulling Keith under the mud-“

”He can’t breathe under there, Hunk!” Lance screamed, on the verge of tears. “We have to help him!”

”I know-“ Hunk kept his arm around Lance, trying to think of anything that could help. Keith might not have a lot of time left- “Grab his hand. I’ll pull you while you hold him, okay? If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else, but it’s all I can think of right now.”

Lance nodded, pushing himself away from Hunk. He grabbed Keith’s hand and forearm with white knuckles. 

“Ready?”

Lance nodded.

With a deep breath, Hunk wrapped an arm around Lance’s stomach and chest, and pulled.

It wasn’t too hard, to say the least. Lance was already pretty light, even with the muscles he gained, and Keith, well, Keith was a tiny guy too. Hunk, on the other hand, had a lot of muscles, and he could hold a lot of heavy stuff. He knows they’re both strong, but compared to Hunk?

He could lift them both with ease.

Hunk pulled Lance until he could see Keith’s head and chest. He couldn’t see his face, not yet, but that didn’t matter. He let go of Lance and moved to Keith, then grabbed him from underneath his armpits and pulled the rest of him out.

He placed him on the ground, his head pillowed on Hunk’s armoured thigh.

His face was sickly pale, blood trickling from his hairline. His lips were tinged blue, and his nose was red.

”Shit- Hunk- I can’t tell if he’s breathing-“

” _Boys_!” Coran’s voice came from the earpiece in their helmets. They both startled, jostling Keith in the process. “ _Do not let Keith take his helmet off! The air is not breathable for Galra!_ ”

Oh shit.

Lance’s eyes widened as he scrambled to take off his own helmet. Hunk panicked, placing his fingers under Keith’s nose.

Nothing.

He waited a few more seconds.

Nothing.

Keith wasn’t breathing- _he wasn’t breathing-_

Lance shoved his helmet onto Keith’s head and shut the visor. He activated the life support on Keith’s suit and waited impatiently for the visor to fog up.

”Come on, come on, come on-“ Lance’s voice cracked, his eyes getting misty. 

An audible breath of air hit the closed visor.

”Oh, thank God-“ Hunk sighed in relief, wiping away his tears.

Lance suddenly yelped, swatting at the back of his neck. "Fuck!"

”Dude, what-“

A pair of ocean blue eyes met his, and they softened.

”Hunk,” he breathed quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you were?” 

Hunk shifted uncomfortably. He’s always wanted this- he knows he does, but somethings wrong, and Lance is dating Keith- “Come on,” Hunk lifted Keith, who was still unconscious, into his arms. Keith’s head lolled onto his chest. He groaned weakly, but didn’t wake up. “Let’s get him to a pod.”

”Why don’t you carry _me_ like that?” Lance whined, pouting as he crossed his arms.

”Uh,” Hunk blushed a bit, starting to walk slowly, careful not to jostle Keith further. “Lance, what-“

He pouted further. “You never want my attention,” he sulked, eyes wet.

”Lance, what are you talking about?” He didn’t wait for Lance as he started to walk through the forest, Keith’s helmet already clipped to his belt. “Keith is unconscious.”

”He always gets the attention,” Lance complained, matching Hunk’s stride. He put his arm around Hunk’s shoulders awkwardly. “Why don’t you pay attention to me?”

Hunk stifled the urge to punch Lance.

”Keith is hurt-“

”I can be hurt!”

”No- Lance! _Put your bayard down!_ ” Hunk stopped in front of the Lion, looking Lance in the eye. Lance frowned, deactivating the rifle that was previously pressed against his skull. “I’ll give you a hug after, okay? Right now, Keith is hurt, he’s not awake, and he can’t walk. He needs a pod.”

Keith groaned again, eyes fluttering open. His eyes were glassy and dull, not focusing on anything in particular. “H...Hu...”

”He’s awake now!”

”That doesn’t mean he can walk,” Hunk hissed, stepping into the Lion’s jaws.

“Why not?!” Keith’s eyes slid to Lance, who was waving his arms around dramatically.

”L...Lance..?” Keith questioned, weakly trying to grasp Lance’s arm.

Lance ignored him, instead choosing to grab Hunk’s bicep and moving out of Keith’s reach. “Listen-“

”No,” Hunk snapped, walking into the cockpit with Lance on his heels. “You listen. Your boyfriend is hurt, and he needs medical attention. You’re going to suck it up for twenty fucking minutes because if Keith-“

”Keith can die for all I care,” Lance rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. Hurt flashed across Keith’s glassy eyes as he flinched away from Lance. “I want you to t-“

”Lance!” Hunk stared in disbelief at his best friend, his _crush_. He put Keith into the pilot’s chair, trying not to notice how he curled into himself, lower lip trembling. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“What?” Lance asked, curiosity plastered over his face. “Why is it a problem to want you to touch me?”

”You just told your boyfriend to die!”

Lance shrugged nonchalantly, hooking his arm with Hunk’s. “I want you to be my boyfriend, so what does it matter? I don’t care about him.”

Hunk gasped, tearing his arm away from Lance. “You know what?” He could hear Keith’s muffled sobs from the chair. Anger burning through him, he threw Lance over his shoulder and walked out of the cockpit.

”Well, this wasn’t exactly what I meant-“

Hunk threw him onto the leafy ground, glaring at Lance. “Find your own way back.”

”Hunk, you can’t just leave me here!”

Hunk walked into the cockpit without another word, closing the ramp. Without any prompt, Yellow  flew off of the planet.

He knelt down in front of Keith, who had curled himself into a ball, head resting on his knees. Sobs shook his small frame as tears slid down his cheeks. “Hey,” he said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Keith flinched away, a strangled sob escaping him. “Keith-“

”G’way,” He mumbled, not lifting his head up.

Hunk sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Hunk admitted, ignoring Keith’s soft ‘ _leave me alone_ ’. “But he loves you, okay? Something might be affecting his brain right now, or something, but I’m absolutely certain that he loves you. I know what he’s like when he’s in love,” Hunk watched as Keith lifted his head with a wince, violet eyes clouded over with tears. “And this- all of it- it’s how he gets. He loves you.”

”B-but,” Keith dropped his head back down, seemingly too tired and hurt to keep it up any longer. “You... you can’t love two p’ple.”

”What?”

”Lance... he- he loves y’too,” Keith’s voice wavered as he spoke, hands trembling where they rested on his feet.

”Keith, what are-?”

”Hunk,” Shiro ran in at that point, a worried look on his face. His eyes flickered between Keith’s sad face and Hunk. “What happened? Where’s Lance?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Hunk spat, straightening himself out. “Keith got attacked by something. He needs a pod,” he lifted Keith’s limp body from the chair, ignoring Keith’s protests. Keith sighed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his head fall onto Hunk’s shoulder.

”Is Lance okay?” Shiro asked, watching Hunk with a slightly concerned expression. “Where is he?”

”He... I don’t know, Shiro,” Hunk took a deep breath through his nose, trying not to run to the med bay. It would only hurt Keith more if he ran. “He just started acting weird, and he was an asshole to Keith. He... he said he didn’t care if Keith died or not; Shit like that. I left him on the planet," He ignored Shiro's startled look and kept walking, determined to get Keith to one of the pods. He disappeared through a set of doors, ignoring Shiro's pounding footsteps and the starting of the Black Lion.

* * *

Hunk knew Lance was back when something jumped on him.

He yelped, dropping the spatula he as currently holding, moving his arms so Lance wouldn't fall off. Even if he wanted him to.

"Lance-"

"Where's my hug?" Lance pushed himself off, a scowl overtaking his features as he held his arms open. "I was promised a hug if Keith got put into a pod-"

"After we talk," He grabbed the spatula and set it on the counter. Turning around, he pointed to one of the counters. "Sit and listen."

Lance rolled his eyes as he nodded, sitting on the counter across from Hunk.

"Good," Hunk grabbed the Altean version of a spatula again, starting to push around the... [perogies](https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwinlYL10NLWAhXDzIMKHWikBlgQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fexplore%2Fpolish-pierogi%2F&psig=AOvVaw1kpUzHx4ciHFEOS-G6L-i_&ust=1507057524534162)? They had the same taste a perogies, but seeing as they didn't have any actual ingredients, they turned out a brownish orange colour. The potatoes were green, and the cheese was... well, it looked like old cheese  _and_ tasted like old cheese, so cheese must be a universal food. He couldn't make it the way his mama used to make it: He didn't have any bacon or green onions, nor did he have any salsa or sour cream. He couldn't find any salsa, so that meant the sauce was off of the table, but he did find something similar to bacon and olive oil. It would be good. Cooking is something that helps him get rid of stress, and sitting in front of Keith's pod for four hours and waiting for him to be okay will not. He remembers Keith telling him once that one of the few things he missed from Earth was perogies. That's how he'd been spending his last two hours. Making the dough from scratch, finding the ingredients, finding a stove in the Castle; turns out it was just underneath a counter, funny, and trying to perfect the recipe. He really hoped Keith would like it. "Why are you mad at Keith?"

Lance made a noise of confusion. "Whadya mean? And can I touch you?"

"After," Hunk said through grit teeth, grabbing more of the perogies out of the weird Altean deep fryer thing. "You- normally, when he gets hurt or something, Protective Lance mode is activated. The last time he got hurt, badly, might I add," He shivered at the thought. The last planet they were on found out Keith was part Galra by  _smelling_ him. They drugged him during the dinner, told them that the Queen wanted to meet with them each separately, and that Keith would be going first. When he didn't come out two hours later, Shiro and Allura had barged in to find two guards attacking Keith, who was laying on the floor, a dazed look in his eyes as he covered his head with his hands- "You went berserk, man," When Shiro had forced the guards off of Keith, Allura had went to pick him up- after yelling at the Queen, of course, Lance had physically pushed her away and carried Keith out of the room with his bayard held protectively above Keith's head. He'd said ' _If anyone touches him, I'll cut your head off,_ ' and all of the aliens had backed away. When they found out Keith's injuries (a major concussion, a broken leg, a shattered ankle, both of his arms were broken, eight broken ribs, three fractured, and both of eardrums were ruptured, thanks to some Galra weapon), it took the Yellow Lion  _and_  the Black Lion to hold Blue and Lance down. Hunk assumed they started dating a few days before that, then confronted him about it the next day. It wasn't that long ago, actually. About two weeks, and Lance's Protection mode was  _so_ close to being deactivated. Then this happened, and it... it just shut down completely.

He watched Lance shrug through the corner of his eyes. "Dunno. Guess I was protective over him 'cause we were dating."

"Well, yeah, so I figured-" Wait. Was? What the fuck? "What do you mean, 'was'?"

"I'm gonna break up with him," Lance replied nonchalantly, leaning back on the counter.

"Break up with him," Hunk repeated on an exhale. "What the hell is wrong with you? You love Keith so freaking much, and you know he'll be heartbroken if-!"

Lance groaned loudly and dramatically, throwing an arm over his eyes. "I don't caaaare. I love you, not that dumbass."

Hunk growled, put down his spatula, and grabbed the front of Lance's shirt. Lance squawked at being hauled up, but immediately softened into it, turning it into an embrace. Hunk rolled his eyes but ignored it. "Look, asshole. I don't know what the hell is going on with you-"

Lance's eyes brightened as he smiled, letting go of Hunk's waist, but not his wrist. "Aw, pet names! Love you too, babe."

Hunk ignored the butterflies in his stomach and the blush that threatened to rise and continued. "But you love him, and I know that. You so much as say one wrong word to him again, and I. Will. Break. You," Hunk hissed, voice dangerously low. "Got it?"

Lance rolled his eyes again. "Whatever. Finish making my perogies, sugarpie."

Hunk let go of his shirt, causing Lance to fall back on the counter with  a yelp. "They're not for you, they're for Keith. They're his comfort food, and you were an absolute fuckwad to him. C'mon, dude. I've never seen Keith cry before-"

Lance shrugged, leaning against the Altean fridge. "He's actually a crybaby. The second night after we got together, he woke up from a nightmare where I left him, which, by the way, is still happening, and started to blubber nonsense. It's unfair, too. He cries so often, but he's one of those pretty criers, y'know? No snot, no ugly frown- Just a small pout with tears staining his pale face," Lance started to ramble, and Hunk decided to ignore it, instead focusing on perfecting the perogies. Hunk vaguely noticed that Lance had his jacket on; he expected Keith to be wearing it once he got out of the pod, but maybe Lance is being a dumbass again and not letting Keith wear it. "He never cries in front of people, and he won't actually let me in the room if he's crying until he's done, or if it's after a nightmare. He's kind of delusional or whatever after that, so he doesn't care that I see him like that, but he should, 'cause," Hunk lifted the pan off of the stove top and tilted it over an overly sized plate, giving Lance a death glare. "It's pretty pathetic. People shouldn't cry so often-"

"Lance," Hunk said darkly, barely managing to not throw the pan at his friend's face. "When we first became roommates back at the Garrison, you cried every night for three months. Don't be a jackass," Hunk didn't swear often, but right now, Lance was being a dick, and he wanted to make it clear that he was mad. "Now go and make your ass useful. Leave your jacket in the pod room, Keith  _will_ want it, because, y'know, you're dating, he's going to be cold and upset, and  _you're_ going to fix it, then you're gonna come back here, and find me three things that taste like sour cream, salsa, and paprika. Understand?"

"Aye aye, baby!" Lance fake saluted, hopped off of the counter, and ran off.

Hunk took a deep breath, then returned to making some perogies.  _Finally_.

Finishing the perogies off, he tried to remember other comfort foods that Keith had told him about. Or items. He doesn't know a lot about Keith.

_"Do you miss anything about Earth?"  Keith shrugged one shoulder. "What about your parents?" Hunk asked, leaning against the wall. He watched Keith stare intently at the glass in front of them, eyes trailing the movement of some stars._

_Keith shrugged, scooting backwards so he could lean on the wall as well. He sighed quietly, slouching where he sat. "Dunno. My mom left when I was like, three, and my dad just... disappeared one day."_

_Oh._

_That would explain why he was living in a shack in the desert, completely alone._

_Hunk lifted a hand and hesitantly rubbed Keith's shoulder. "That's rough, man," Hunk couldn't imagine living like that, especially for not as long as Keith had... wait. How long had Keith-?_

_Keith shrugged, for the third time that night, blinking harshly. "It... it's fine, really. I got put into the system after some cop just... showed up and said my dad wasn't coming back. There were some bad families, but they always got arrested somehow. Abuse, drugs, whatever. I got out of there after about a week, normally. The good families, though, they always left eventually," Hunk noticed the tears brimming at the edge of Keith's eyes, and the way he seemed to curl into himself. He never asked Keith for this type of backstory, but it was good that he was talking about it. He doubted anyone else, other than Lance, had heard this, and he obviously needed to get it off of his chest, so Hunk was happy to lend a shoulder to lean on, even if his crush was unrequited. "And when I was thirteen, my school took a field trip to the Garrison, and I got to try a simulation. Apparently, I beat Shiro's high score," Life story. Cool. He didn't know a lot about Keith. "And some kids thought I cheated, but I didn't. So at lunch the next day, I got into another fight about it. Shiro was at the school or something I guess, because the next thing I knew, he was pulling my beaten ass away from some tall kid, and Commander Holt was pulling the tall kid away from me. He made me go to the hospital or something, but I don't really remember it. I had a concussion, or something. Dunno. Anyways, he got me a scholarship into the Garrison, and then I went there, and then... and then Shiro... he left. And-and, I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to- ramble," Keith sniffled, wiping at his eyes. His shoulders were shaking with suppressed sobs. “S-sorry. I’m gonna go... and... yeah. I’m gonna go find Lance or s-sleep or something. Sorry.”_

_Keith rubbed his palms into his eyes harshly and started to get up._

_”Hey- wait,” Hunk said quietly, grabbing Keith’s wrist. He looked at him with tears in his eyes while he bit his lower lip. “C’mere,” Hunk pulled him into a hug- Loose enough that he could break free if he wanted to._

_He didn’t._

_Keith wrapped his arms around Hunk, as much as he could, and buried his face in Hunk’s chest as he sobbed violently._

_Hunk rubbed his back, resting his chin on Keith’s head. “It’ll be okay. You’re fine. Everything’s fine. Do you want me to get Lance?”_

_Keith shook his head. “N-no. Stay.”_

_”Okay.”_

_And they stayed like that for the next few hours, until Hunk was sure Keith had stopped crying and fell asleep._

_With a fond smile, he scooped Keith into his arms, and left the observation deck, in pursuit of Lance and Keith’s shared room._

_He passed Lance when they were a hallway away from their room._

_Lance gave him a quick grin. “Hey.”_

_”Hey,” Hunk answered back, forcing down a blush when Keith mumbled incoherently and nuzzled his shoulder. “What’cha doin’?”_

_Lance stretched, revealing a slab of tanned, muscled skin. Hunk wondered what it felt like to put his lips on that- He forced his eyes up to meet Lance’s, coughing lightly to hide his blush. “Bed. Want me to take him?” Lance nodded his head towards Keith, who was fast asleep in Hunk’s arms._

_”Yeah,” Hunk agreed, hiding his disappointment. It felt nice to hold Keith. “Sure.”_

_Lance smiled again, and put his arms right beside Hunk’s so he had a firm grip on Keith. Hunk let go, ignoring the tingling feeling he got when Lance's bare arms brushed his, letting Keith go into Lance’s arms-_

_Keith sighed happily, grabbing Lance’s shirt with one hand while reaching out for Hunk’s wrist with the other. His eyes were still closed, but he was smiling and rubbing his face against Lance’s shoulder._

_“‘ppos...” He mumbled, watching Hunk through a slit eye. "Hi...hippos..."_

He’d have to find some alien planet that was full of hippos.

 Or maybe find a stuffed hippopotamus? Or something close to it?

He'd figure it out later.

With the food finished, he wiped his hands on a rag, put them in the fridge, and left the kitchen.

Only to walk head first into an argument.

”Lance!” Shiro shouted from the end of the hall. Lance was a few feet from the kitchen door, back to Hunk and three containers balanced in has hands. “Get back here! I don’t give a shit,” Oh. Shiro’s swearing. Space dad does not swear. “If you want to see Hunk, and I don’t care if it’s that toxin shit, you need to apologiz-!”

”To you? Because I’m going. I don’t really care if Keith’s upset,” Lance shrugged, jacket off, turning around. Lance shrieked, nearly dropping the containers. “Hunk! I missed you!”

”Um,” Hunk said, giving Lance a death glare. “Saw eachother like, five minutes ago.”

”Yep! Still missed you!” Lance dropped the containers and hugged him. Hunk huffed and lifted his arms up. 

“Did you do what I asked?”

”I did,” Lance gestured to the containers. Shiro was still at the end of the hall, arms crossed (and glowing), while he glared at Lance.

”Did you leave your jacket in the med bay?”

Lance nodded. “Well, he was getting out of the pod when I got there, so I kinda just... let him fall? He was like an hour early, and I really wanted to see you, so I threw the jacket at him and left. Bumped into mr. Grumpy Pants over here,” He jerked a thumb at Shiro, while Hunk forced Lance off of him. Lance pouted but grabbed his hand instead. “and he made me get some tests done by Coran.  Apparently, I was bit by a Causriel, some type of love bug? Dunno. He said the first person I saw I would fall in love with. Or something like that. I dunno. Can I kiss you now?”

Hunk groaned, dropping his face into his hands. “Shiro-“

”When he got bit, you were the first person he saw,” Shiro explained, somehow appearing right beside them. He had a tight grip on Lance’s bicep, keeping him at arms length from Hunk. “It’ll last for about a week, maybe longer. Coran’s only seen the bugs work once, and it lasted for about nine days.”

”Great,” Hunk sighed, backing away from Lance. Lance poured and bit his lip, eyes becoming wet. “Anything else?”

”It’s better to starve the toxin. Don’t let him touch you too often. Being near you is fine, but the toxin will leave him faster if you don’t touch him,” That was going to prove difficult. “And once the toxin settles in, it’ll be nearly impossible to get him off of you.”

Hunk nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

"Yeah," Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. "I'll take him to Coran."

Hunk nodded, yet again, and took off in the opposite direction, ignoring his friend's desperate cries.

* * *

It took Hunk twenty minutes to find Keith.

After the fiasco with Lance, he knew Keith would: A. Not have the jacket, B. Be upset, C. Be emotional, and D. Find somewhere to hide.

His first guess was the training deck- Y'know, the place Keith went whenever he had emotions he didn't want to deal with (well, apparently he cried in his room, but that’s beside the point)?

But a quick trip to the hallway had shown him no living soul in the training deck.

With a determined sigh, he set off for the other places Keith went when he wanted to be alone.

The observation deck was dark and empty, but Lance’s jacket was there.

Curiosity at it’s peak, Hunk entered the room, the lights flickering on at the motion, and picked up the crumpled jacket.

He was a little surprised to see damp spots on the sleeves. 

That meant tears.

That meant Keith was crying.

Hunk draped the jacket over his shoulder and ran into the hallway.

-Only to run into Keith's boot.

Wait.

Why was his boot in the air?

Looking further up, rubbing his hurt cheek with his hand, he saw a leg attached to this boot.

"Keith, why are-" Looking  _even_ further up, he saw Keith. 

Sticking out of a vent.

Keith lashed out with his boot, barely managing to hit Hunk, and pulled himself further into it. “Go away!” He yelled, voice shaking as his feet disappeared into the hole. Hunk would’ve followed him, but the vent looks about three million times smaller than Hunk, and Hunk... he’s a bit claustrophobic.

”I’m not going anywhere, Keith! I’m trying...” Hunk forced down a wave of nausea when he looked at the vent. It looked really, really small... How is Keith even breathing in there?! Okay. Maybe a little more than a ‘bit’. “Trying to help you!”

“You can’t even get u-up here, dumba-ass,” Keith’s voice wavered. From what Hunk could hear, it sounded like he was trying to discreetly sniffle, but with the echo of the vent, he could hear a lot of things.

Like shallow breathing.

”Keith?” Hunk asked, going on his tippy-toes to try and see inside of the vent for Keith- and wow, that was dark and small- With a deep breath, he ignored the panic and tried to find Keith; it seemed like he was just as scared of the small spaces as he was. A few feet away, Keith had somehow curled into a ball, subconsciously rocking himself back and forth as he shook from... something. The cold? Tears? Both? “Ke-“

” _Igeon silsu yeoss-eo, silsu yeoss-eo- museowo, dowa jwo, mianhae, museowo-“_ Keith muttered silently, in a language that Hunk couldn’t recognize.

”Keith? Hey, what’s wrong?” Hunk asked, once again forcing his own panic down.

Keith tensed, seemingly startled. He looked up with wide, terrified eyes. “Nothing-“

”That’s bullcrap and we both-“

“I’m scared,” Keith said in a small, quiet voice. It was so quiet Hunk almost didn’t hear it. Almost.

”Oh- okay. That’s fine,” Hunk was a little stunned. Sure, Keith had feelings, and Hunk knew Keith could get scared, but he had never actually seen it before... “What are you scared of, buddy?”

Keith swallowed audiably, tightening his hands on his knees. “T-this- I’m scared-“

”Okay,” Hunk cut him off, taking a deep breath. “I’m going to get you out of there, okay?”

Keith nodded tersely.

”Are you- can you get closer to the opening?” Hunk asked, his feet sore from the position. It didn’t matter- Keith needed help and he was going to get help, sore feet be damned.

Hesitantly, Keith nodded again. He unwrapped his arms from his knees slowly, hands visibly trembling. He scooted closer with slow, panicked movements, and now that he was closer, he could hear the laboured breaths _even_ clearer than before. 

“You’re doing great, buddy, just a few more inches-“

The ship violently lurched to the side, pulling a startled yelp from Keith as he fell out of the vent. Hunk had lost balance as well, but managed to steady his footing so Keith didn’t land on his ass and run away again. He managed to catch Keith in a bridal position, again. Keith didn’t exactly scream, but... No, wait he did, and it hurt Hunk’s heart to hear it. Fighting alongside Keith for nearly a year, he had heard a whole lot of cries from Keith: Battle cries, screams of anger, frustrated shouts and cries of pain he couldn’t surpress, but he had never heard Keith scream out of pure terror before, and it was utterly heartbreaking. 

Keith was pale (well, paler than normal) and trembling in his arms, a sheen of sweat gathering on his forehead. “ _Lo siento, help, igeon silsu yeoss-eo_ ,” Keith was probably a little more than delirius, having mixed together three different languages, and absolutely butchering the spanish pronunciation. “ _Mianhae, mianhae- dowa jwo, dulyeowo_ ,” He whispered over and over again, clutching Hunk’s shirt with a tight fist. He started hyperventilating, squeezing his eyes shut and hiding his face in Hunk’s shoulder.

”Hey- hey, it’s okay. Just breathe with me, okay? It’ll all be okay- you’re gonna be fine,” Hunk has no idea what he was saying, but he was hoping it was along the lines of ‘help me’. Or something. He didn’t speak whatever language Keith was speaking. He set Keith on the floor (because it was rather ridiculous to be standing and holding him while he showed him how to breathe, and if Keith weren’t so delirious and scared, he would object to being held), but didn’t let go of him. He made sure Keith was in arms reach as he took an exaggerated deep breath and gestures vaguely with one hand.

Keith looked at him through hooded eyes, breaths becoming more evened out.

”That’s it, buddy,” Keith was clearly struggling, one hand over his chest while the other has a tight grip on Hunk’s forearm. “You’re doing great. Just a few more-“

”Hunk!” And suddenly Lance was on him, knocking him over and away from Keith. Keith flinched, curling away from Lance with a terrified posture. His breathing had gone fast and short again- Shit, Lance needed to leave before Keith hyperventilated himself into unconsciousness.

Lance was beaming above him, ignoring the way Keith was clawing at his throat as if something was blocking his airway. “Hey, I was-“

”Off,” Hunk growled, glaring daggers at Lance. Keith needed help, and if Lance did not move in the next two seconds-

Lance pouted, crossing his arms on Hunk’s chest. “But Huunk,” Lance drawled out, pout becoming even more poutier.

“ _Naneun hoheub hal su eobsda- Hunk, please- mianhada- naneun sum-eul swil su eobsda- wae sum-eul swil suga eobsda_ -“ Keith whispered to himself quietly, and the only words Hunk could understand was ‘Hunk, please’.

Lance, on the other hand, scoffed and threw a glare over his shoulder at Keith. Keith looked at him with pleading, wet eyes, lips parted and hands scratching at his throat, leaving thin little red lines and one bloody cut. “Stop being such a baby. You’re just imagining thing-“

With an aggravated shout that startled Lance out of his sentence, he threw Lance off of him and got up.

Keith’s eyes were squeezed shut now, hands still desperately clawing at his throat with more garbled words, that Hunk couldn’t make heads or tails of, escaping his mouth.

”C’mon,” Hunk said quietly, ignoring Shiro when he came into the hall and pinned Lance against himself, send Keith a worried look and leave again. “I’ll take you to your room, okay?”

Keith didn’t answer, but stopped clawing his throat off and opened his eyes.

Taking the silence as a yes, Hunk scooped Keith into his arms, for the third time that day, and took off for the med-bay. 

He knew he said bedroom, but the cut on Keith’s neck, along with another two now, looked pretty bad. 

Keith clutched at his shirt with bloody fingers, sniffling wetly as he finally got his breathing measured. He continued to mutter nonsense to himself under his breath. Hunk ignored it, humming an old tune he hoped would keep Keith calm.

It did.

Keith relaxed in his arms, eyelids drooping.

”Hey,” Hunk said, jostling Keith a little to get his attention. Keith looked a bit startled- Oh- no, he didn’t want to scare him again-

“ _N-ne?”_ Keith answered, in the same language.

“I-um. English, please?”

”O-oh. Sorry,” Keith muttered sheepishly, shivering a little in his arms. He did just come out of a cold pod, and he was just in an air conditioned vent... “Yeah?”

”You can sleep if you want. I’m gonna bring you to the med-bay, first, then your room-“

Keith shook his head. “N-no. No room.”

Hunk didn’t question it, only opened the door to the med-bay.

He was met with screams.

Keith winced, letting go of Hunk to cover his ears. He probably had a headache from the concussion- he’d gotten a concussion once, and even with the healing pods, he had a headache for a few hours afterwards.

”I want to see Hunk, you fucking bastards!" Lance screamed, thrashing in Shiro's grip. Hunk, legs glued to the spot, could only stare in shock at Lance, who was currently trying to attack their leader with his  _teeth_. "Let me see him!"

"Lance," Shiro grunted, keeping his metal hand on Lance's hands and his human armed wrapped around Lance's chest, lifting him off of the floor. Lance kicked at the air, futilely trying to get free.

"Shiro, let me go!"

Keith shivered in his arms, hands still clamped around his ears and eyes squeezed shut. It broke Hunk's heart to see him in pain. Shifting Keith a little higher so he didn't fall, he walked into the med bay with a straight posture and eyes fixed on Coran, who's back was to him, preparing some type of... sedative?

Making sure to stay out of Lance's eyesight, he made a beeline for the table beside Coran. He lowered Keith onto it and let go, keeping a hand close to Keith's forearm in case he wanted something to ground him-

He did.

Keith removed one hand from his ear and grabbed Hunk's hand tightly, his eyes still shut and teeth grit in pain.

He tapped Coran on the shoulder, promptly startling the older man, seeing as he dropped a pair of golden tweezers. He snapped his head around, a mix of panic and worry on his face. It immediately turned into relief. "Oh, my goodness," Coran said, sagging into the counter. "You scared me."

"I saw," Hunk whispered with a laugh, trying not to alert Lance of his presence, even if the screaming drowned out his voice. He gave Coran pleading eyes, hoping he would understand. Coran was a very wise man. Hopefully he understood that Hunk didn't want Lance to know he was here and it would be bad if Lance found out...

Coran quirked an eyebrow. "What do you need, um, Pidge?"

Hunk moved out of Coran's eyesight, giving him view of Keith, who had both ears clamped over his head, Hunk's in one of them. He looked a little more relaxed holding Hunk's hand, but tears were starting to leak through Keith's eyelids. They glimmered on Keith's eyelashes, and even though he'd rather eat Coran's seven course meal than see Keith cry, it was beautiful. He mentally kicked at the ground. Stupid unrequited crush. "What happened to his neck?" Coran asked, moving in front of him. Keith flinched when Coran touched his collarbone, but didn't protest. 

"He tricked himself into thinking he couldn't breathe, and well- he tried to scratch his neck off," Hunk explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My," Coran muttered, backing away to pull a roll of bandages out of the cupboard, along with some Altean version of anesthetic. "Human brains are odd."

"Shiro, let me-!"

Hunk snorted. They sure fucking were.

"Hunk," Lance gasped, the snort catching his attention. Hunk blanched, hand going stiff in Keith's. "Hunk- help me- the moron is trying to hurt me-"

"I'm keeping you from him," Shiro corrected with a growl, arm tightening around Lance.

Lance ignored him. "Hunk,  _please_."

Hunk shook his head with a glare. "Shiro-"

"Already leaving," Shiro said, dragging Lance out of the room, kicking and screaming.

Now it was just him, Coran, and a barely conscious Keith left in the room, with almost no noise.

Well, no ear splitting noises.

Coran poured the liquid onto a rag and dabbed at Keith's neck. Keith let out a soft hiss, hand tightening around Hunk's, but not around his ears. In fact, the hand not holding his let go of his ear and was grabbing at the table. "Sorry, m'boy," Coran said quietly, pressing on one of the scratches. Keith whimpered, squirming under Coran's grip. Coran looked at Hunk with sad eyes. "This will disinfect the cuts and keep it clean, but it will put him in a tremendous amount of pain."

Hunk nodded, brushing his thumb over Keith's knuckles and forcing down a blush because he was holding Keith's hand-

Keith screamed and writhed underneath Coran, who was putting on a brave face, even though Hunk knew it killed Coran to do this to one of his own; They were all like sons (and daughters) to Coran, and he didn't want to hurt them.

"We do have painkillers, but I must check if it is compatible with Human Galra hybrids first. I'll check once this is done," Coran told Hunk, taking the rag off of the cut. It had stopped bleeding a while back (and now blood was soaking into Keith's black shirt), but Hunk could tell that it was deep. Coran had a roll of bandages in one hand, and a spray bottle in the other. It was filled with a clear liquid, which Hunk assumed was water, but he was probably wrong. A lot of the Altean drinks were clear. He drank something that tasted like puke once, thinking it was water. "Hold him still, and lift up his head, please. This will stop the bleeding, but like before," Coran hesitated, placing the bandages on the table. "It will put him through a tremendous amount of pain."

Hunk did as he was told, not trusting his voice to form proper words. He let go of Keith's hand, and moved to place one on his shoulder, but something caught his wrist in a weak grip. He could pull it out, but Hunk wouldn't do that to Keith. Keith was peering at him through slit eyelids, purple eyes glassy and hazy with pain. "D-don't leave," he gasped, hand loosening even more around Hunk's wrist.

"I-" Hunk swallowed over the lump in his throat. He absolutely hated seeing Keith like this. "I'm not. I just need my hand," Keith whimpered softly, closing his eyes and letting go, clearly exhausted. He placed a hand firmly over Keith's shoulder (it seemed like he leaned into the touch, but they were talking about Keith, here...) and one under his head, with minimal difficulty, and elevated it for Coran.

He watched Coran take a deep breath and spray the cut on the side of his neck.

Keith's eyes shot open as he screamed, struggling weakly underneath Hunk. "S-stop! C-Coran, please, h-help, I.. it hurts, Coran- please- stop," Keith begged, eyes squeezing shut. He kept his mouth firmly sealed, but it couldn't stop the quiet whimpers and hisses that came out when Coran moved onto another cut. " _Takusete_ _... Takashi, takusete..._ "

That sounded like Japanese. Maybe he got Shiro to teach him some? 

When Coran sprayed the last cut, Keith let out a breathy sob as exhaustion took its toll.

He went limp in Hunk's hold, sagging against the table with a relaxed expression.

"It just needs some bandages, and he'll be good as new," Coran smiled sadly, placing one of the strangely Earth like bandages on his neck. Hunk let go of Keith's shoulder and head, leading it to the table gently. He took Keith's hand again and started rubbing circles into it, even if he couldn't feel it.

The door slid open, startling Hunk, but Coran worked on, placing the last bandage onto his neck. "There we-"

"Hunk!" Lance screamed, and Hunk didn't know it was possible, but Keith winced in his sleep. He ran at Hunk, a cut on his chin, one across his eyebrow, and a bruise on his jaw. He must've fought Shiro, or something. Hunk braced himself, expecting Lance to run into him, but he didn't. Looking up, he saw that Lance was glaring at Keith. " _Mierda, esa maldita perra lo está robando_ -" He tore Hunk's hand off of Keith's, and pushed him away, somehow gaining the strength to knock him on his ass. He placed both of his hands on Keith's wrist and twisted. Keith gasped and twitched a little in his sleep, but didn't wake up. 

"Lance!" Coran yelled, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him away from Keith. Lance screamed furiously, a dark fire burning in his eyes, as he tried to push away from Coran. He didn’t let go of Keith’s wrist, instead choosing to hold on tighter and twist it further so it would break. “Let go of him!”

Hunk shot to his feet, grabbing Lance’s wrists in his hand, and prying his fingers off of Keith’s arm with the other.

”Let- oh, Hunkey poo!” Lance smiled brightly at him, relaxing in Coran’s grip and forgetting about Keith. “I missed you!” 

Hunk just glared at him, letting go of his wrists once he was sure Lance was far enough away from Keith. 

“C’mon, lad,” Coran said solemnly, pulling Lance away. Lance panicked, eyes filled with worry as he screamed and struggled.

”No! No, Hunk! Help- Hunk! Let go!” Lance’s voice faded away as the door shut, leaving the room eerily silent, save for the soft snores escaping Keith’s mouth. He looked peaceful and relaxed in his sleep, happy, even. It didn’t matter if he was in pain, he was content in his sleep, which meant it was dreamless or nightmareless.

He brought Keith into his arms (he would never get tired of carrying this magnificent boy), and started leaving the room, Keith’s head lolling over Hunk’s forearm. The tip of his nose was red, and his cheeks were tinted pink. Come to think of it, from what he was touching, Keith _did_ feel a little cold...

His adam’s apple bobbed a little as he stirred, eyes fluttering open. Keith’s eyes were still hazy with sleep, but he didn’t seem to be in pain anymore.

”Hunk?” He asked, voice raspy. Keith licked his lips- Hunk totally did not trail the movement, no siree- He raised his head with a wince, bringing a hand to his temple. "Wha's goin' on? Why are you..." He looked down, noticing he was in the air. His cheeks flooded with red, adding onto the pink that was there before. "Can you put me down, please?"

"Right," Hunk forced down his disappointment,  _now is not the time gay feelings-_ "Of course. Yeah," He gently lowered Keith to the floor, ready to catch him in case he fell again. Keith stumbled as Hunk straightened up, but caught himself before Hunk could interfere. 

"I'm..." He rubbed at his head again, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm gonna go find Coran. I've got a killer migraine," Keith shivered a little, taking a step forward. Hunk brushed past him, eyes set on the kitchen a few doors down. He could cook stuff. Stress-reliever. He stopped when a feather light weight touched his shoulder. "Do you know where my jacket is? Or Lance's?" Keith questioned, innocence shining in his eyes. His mouth quirked up when he mentioned Lance- "I would ask for Lance, but it would just make my head worse right now," he was joking, but it was entirely true. “I mean- He can be super quiet at times, especially if I ask him to, but if he doesn’t get rid of enough energy he has a hard time sleeping,” Keith explained, and-  _oh._  

He doesn't remember.

Hunk cleared his throat. "Uh, Keith? What do you remember?"

Keith blanched a little, eyes fluttering a little as he tried to remember. "We... we went on a supply run, or something. We split up, and... This tree thing attacked me. It was like, a  living tree. I'm not really sure. It hit me on the head with it's branch, then knocked me over, then... it pulled me under some quick sand thing with it's branches. I lost my helmet at one point. The rest is a bit hazy... Like, I remember it, just... not a lot, I guess?  Lance was complaining about something, then he was gone... I'm not really sure. I remember coming out of the healing pod," Keith's eyebrows furrowed. "but... nothing else. It's all... Why? What happened?"

Hunk groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "God  _damn_ -"

" _Keith, please come to the bridge,_ " Coran's voice sounded over their weird speaker.

"Tell me after," and Keith was gone, running to the bridge.

* * *

When Hunk got to the kitchen, he wasn't expecting to see Pidge.

She was sitting on the counter, hair pulled away from her face with a purple headband. She had Lance's pyjama shirt on, with her own pyjama shorts (thank God they weren't booty shorts). Her computer was in her lap, open on a folder that held pictures she'd taken over the course of their time in space.

"Hey," Hunk smiled at her, startling her out of her intense staring. She closed her computer and turned to face him, glasses sliding off of her nose.

"Hi," She gave him a little wave, leaning back on the counter. "You know," she started without prompt, watching Hunk as he walked around the counter and to the Altean hot-fridge, where he had stored the perogies. Now that Keith was up, he could give them to him. "Lance is like a brother to me. I wouldn't tell him that, of course, but he is. He's like my second big brother, and just like Matt, he can't lie for shit. To me, at least."

Food forgotten, Hunk hopped onto the counter beside her, and laid down as well. "Story time?" He asked, giving her an amused smile.

She laughed with a small smirk. "Story time," she agreed, pulling his arm so it would pillow her head. Despite what people might think, Pidge was actually a person who loved physical contact and to cuddle, but only with specific people.

Her families.

"One night, I woke up from this nightmare. I don't know how long ago this was, maybe a week? Dunno. Anyways, it was about Lance getting captured by the Galra, and- and it took us three years to find him, but when we did, none of us moved to help him and he fought in the arena, and- The alien he was fighting; it was four times bigger than him, and it swatted him aside like a fly. He didn't get up, and the alien won, and he told me it was  _my fault_ -"

"It's okay," Hunk reassured her, pulling her into an awkward side hug. She relaxed a little bit, wiping at her eyes.

"S-sorry," she muttered, pulling away. She continued to use his arm as a pillow as she told her story. "I woke up after that. I was really scared- so, I went to Lance's room with my pillow, and I couldn't hear inside, but no one came to the door and it  _terrified_ me, so I knocked for a solid two minutes, because if he was sleeping naked I didn't want to be scarred by opening the door. By the time he did answer the door, I was crying and on the verge of a panic attack. He hugged me and carried me to the bed, and... Keith was there too. He put me beside Keith, and sat on the other side. I knew they were dating then, and I know you know, so I'm fine with revealing that."

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows, honestly," Hunk snorted, ruffling her hair.

She squawked indignantly, giving him a halfhearted glare. "Before that day, I had never seen Keith cry. He pulled me into his lap, and hugged the living shit out of me, then started to... cry. It was freaky," she sighed a little, shifting on his arm. "And then I was crying into his chest, and Lance pulled us both into a hug. He gave me this shirt," she gestured to the blue pyjama shirt she was wearing, that fit her like a dress. "because mine was covered in sweat and tears. We fell asleep like that, and when I woke up, Lance was singing some song with Keith in his arms, and Keith... he was crying again. I didn't know why, but I didn't really care, because Keith, he's like... my older, 'I-have-no-emotions', over protective brother, and I... I didn't want to just watch, so I crawled in between them and hugged him. Turns out Keith is like, completely touch starved."

"Yeah," Hunk sighed dreamily, remembering how whenever he was near him or Pidge, at least one part of their body was touching. He accepted the occasional hug from everyone now, not just Shiro. When he was with Lance, their sides would be touching, or they would be laying down together side by side. During movie nights, Lance would have an arm over Keith's shoulders and Keith would be curled into Lance's side, half asleep on his shoulder. They did that every few days during their break, Keith practically sleeping on Lance, and it made a pang of jealousy stab Hunk's heart, but he ignored it, and continued whatever he was doing, pretending that he didn't love both of them.

"When everything calmed down, Keith was laying beside Lance- well, he was on Lance, pretty much. Lance was leaning against the wall, and I was in his lap, still hugging Keith. He... he told me that when I came in, he had just woken up from a nightmare where I had died and I told him it was his fault," she shuddered lightly, hugging herself in the process. "When I woke up, he had woken up from another nightmare a few minutes before, but this time it was where we all abandoned him for being part Galra. He took yours and Lance's the hardest.”

Hunk blanched a bit, the only colour in his face the blush that was quickly spreading to his ears. "W-what? Why me?"

Pidge gave him another glare. "Because he likes you, dumbass. So does Lance."

"Well, y-yeah, I know that," Hunk pushed down his hope- it was just a nightmare, he's had nightmares about all of them before-

"No, you don't. It's not my place to tell you this, and I know that, but the only way Keith is going to get through this week  _alive_ , is if you help him," Pidge explained, sitting up and crossing her legs. "They like you the way they like each other, and I know you like them the same way. So stop being a pining  _moron_ , and help the dumbass out. Got it?"

"U-uh," Hunk stuttered, face a blushing mess. "Yea-Yeah. Got i-it."

"Good. Now go bring him those perogies."

* * *

 Hunk got to the bridge just in time to see Keith storming off, the only glance given to him was a scowl.

"Keith?" Hunk asked, turning around, perogies on a plate in his hand.

"Fuck you," he growled, disappearing around the corner.

Why was Keith so mad? He hadn’t dont anything wrong!

Except, well...

He entered the bridge-

Only to find Lance kneeling on the floor, wheezing as Coran inspected his face with an arm wrapped around his stomach.

“Uh,” Hunk coughed, ignoring the fact that he’d grabbed Lance’s attention. Lance beamed brightly, stomach forgotten, as he leapt to his feet and hugged the breath out of him. “What happened?”

“Keith found out about the venom,” Coran answered him, a solemn expression on his face. He moved to the door, giving Hunk a quick pat on the back. “It did not go over well. I'm going to go speak to him; Please try to keep Lance away from yourself."

"Oh- wait! I'll come with! I have these perogies for-"

"Er," Coran cleared his throat, interrupting Hunk. "It would be wise to stay away from Lance  _and_ Keith for the time being, number two," Coran said, a frown on his face. "I will take the... pregos to him, though," He offered a fake smile, took the plate from Hunk's still body, and left the room.

"Lance," Hunk groaned, shaking his arm, which Lance was attached to. He didn't have the patience to deal with this, and Keith really needed comfort, but he couldn't offer it- "Get off."

"But-"

"No. Get off," Hunk growled, forcefully pushing him off.

"No!"

"Lance, I swear to God-"

And then Shiro was there, physically prying Lance off of Hunk. Lance screamed and thrashed in his grip, reaching for Hunk, but he was too far. He sent a thankful smile to Shiro, then bolted out of the room.

Time to sleep.

He couldn't deal with this any longer.

* * *

Turns out, Hunk could not sleep.

When he finally got into his color coded pyjamas and got comfortable under the fuzzy blankets (the ones he'd found in a supply closet when he was cleaning with Pidge- there was 6, no one else was around...), he just laid there, wide awake, events of the day going through his head.

There were the occasional set of footsteps and hushed whispering, but it seemed like no one else was awake, now.

A few months after they got here, Pidge and Hunk had created a sort of clock. It would say the time that it was on Earth, because guessing when it should be the time to sleep or train was getting hard. Right now, it was 2:36am, and Hunk hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

Normally, he hated the silence (It's one of the reasons he was best friends/crushing on Lance. Lance was never quiet. He always filled the room with loud noises, and so far, he had yet to see Lance quiet), but after being surrounded by it for a solid five hours, he was fine with it.

When he heard muffled footsteps outside of his door, he suppressed the urge to scream, or throw up, or both. After several seconds of more silence, he heard a quiet knock.

"Hunk?" That voice- it was Keith. Why was Keith up?

_Why did he sound so scared?_

"Are you..." No- Hunk was wrong. He didn't sound scared. "Are you up?"

"Yeah, buddy. Come on in."

He sounded  _terrified_.

The door slid open, and, unlike home, no lights from the hallway blinded him. In fact, the lights were off in the hallway. He couldn't see Keith.

"You there, buddy?" Hunk asked, sitting up in bed. There was no answer, but he heard the door slide shut as Keith shuffled inside.

When Hunk's eyes finally adjusted, the mattress dipped beside him. Keith was sitting on the bed, a blue pillow clutched tightly to his chest. He was wearing a pair of blue sweatpants that were way too long for him, and a black t-shirt (Which was weird. The rare times he saw Keith in pyjamas, he had Lance’s pyjama shirt on). His hair covered his face, so Hunk couldn't tell if he had been crying or not. "Can... Can I sleep here?" he asked quietly, voice small and uncertain as he looked sideways at Hunk, dark smudges under his eyes and dry tears staining his paler-than-normal cheeks.

"'course, buddy," Hunk smiled at him, laying back down. He lifted up a corner of the blankets, and even though the beds weren't  _huge_ , they could comfortably fit two people. Keith laid down reluctantly, holding the pillow like a small child would hold their favourite teddy bear. "Wanna tell me what's wrong?"

He isn't sure what got Keith to tell him; Be it the sleep deprivation or the vulnerability Keith seems to gain when he's around him, Hunk doesn't know, but he's grateful for it anyways. "I..." He took a deep breath, burying his face into the pillow. "Nightmare. Bad one. I slept in my own room, and Lance would just be a jackass to me if I went to him. He's normally the one to help me with these things."

_And Pidge._

"Want a hug?" Hunk asked reluctantly, 'accidentally' brushing their hands together.

Keith remained silent, holding the pillow tighter.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Hunk warned, pulling Keith into a tight hug. The angle was a bit awkward, but Hunk didn't care. It felt good holding Keith, and he hated seeing Keith so upset. Keith tensed at first, but quickly relaxed, turning so he could receive a proper hug. He buried his face in Hunk's chest, pillow forgotten.

”Sorry,” Keith mumbled, voice small and muffled by Hunk’s shirt.

”Don’t be sorry,” Hunk rubbed his back, pulling the blanket up to Keith’s shoulders. “You’re allowed to be scared-“

”No,” Keith sat up, hair rumpled and pillow by his knees. The blanket thankfully stayed around his shoulders- He had been freezing all morning, and Hunk would be damned if he didn’t give him the warmest sleep ever. “Not that. I was- I was mean to you, earlier. I’m sorry.”

”No prob, dude,” Hunk smiled, stretching his arms out. “‘s’all good.”

”Oh,” Keith laid back down hesitantly, head just below Hunk’s arm. He pulled the blanket up to his waist. “Thank you,” he said quietly, resting his hands on his stomach.

Hunk huffed and pulled the blanket higher on Keith. He startled, staring at Hunk with curiosity filled eyes. “You were freezing all day.”

Keith nodded in agreement.

”Are you still cold?”

He pursed his lips, turning on his side so he could face Hunk. After a few short minutes, he nodded- slowly. “Yeah,” It was an exhale, but it was all of the confirmation Hunk needed. He grabbed one of the blankets from the end of the bed and laid it on him, then pulled Keith into his chest.

Even then, Hunk couldn't sleep.

When Keith fell asleep, (and God damn, was it cute), he counted his snores.

It was 4:32am.

He had gotten to 5,046 snores.

* * *

Hunk woke up with a snort, then proceeded to choke on his own spit.

He isn't sure when he fell asleep, but to be honest, he doesn't know what woke him up, either.

Maybe it was the warmth that had disappeared over night-

Wait.

That warmth was Keith.

Sluggishly, he opened his eyes, only to be met with a very,  _very_ bright light.

"Dim lighting," he groaned, kicking the blankets off. He sat up in bed, scrubbing at his eyes with a loose fist. God, those blankets were comfortable, but they were  _so warm_. At least they helped Keith- Speaking of, where did he go?

A crash sounded from the hallway.

He stumbled as he got up, nearly falling, but managed to catch himself.

He hated mornings.

He placed his palm on the pad after three tries, and nearly fell asleep waiting for it to open.

Hunk didn't have a chance to look at the clock, but it probably didn't matter. 

The hallway was bare, save for Pidge, who was dragging her feet down the hallway, hair mussed up from sleep, and Lance's shirt as pyjamas. She didn't wear pants that Hunk could see, not that he was looking there- he's gay for days, but Lance lived on this ship, and Shiro was their Space Dad...

See, a few weeks after they came onto the Castle, Lance and Hunk had made roles for everyone.

Lance, he was the older brother who flirted with every girl and looked at them wrong, but he was actually a good brother.

Keith, he was the over protective 'I'll-kill-you-if-you-look-at-my-sister' brother, and hasn't killed Lance.  _Yet_.

Hunk, he was the best brother, courtesy of Lance, who would cook whatever you wanted when you were sad.

Allura was the Space Mom, who was pining after Space Dad.

Shiro was the Space Dad, who was pining after Space Mom.

Coran was the weird ass uncle that everyone loved.

And Pidge... well, she was the little sister that everyone loved and was over protective of; Especially Keith and Shiro.

They'd physically put pants on her if she didn't.

Hunk just smiled at her, and received a grumpy frown and a string of incoherent words in response.

Once Pidge was gone, Hunk scanned the hallway, looking for the source of the crash. There was nothing in the hallway, nothing except Hunk, and it was... weird. Everyone must be at breakfast, then.

He stepped into the hall, stretching his arms above his head-

 _"Just- hold still!_ _"_ Lance's voice rang out from his locked door, and another crash was heard, but this time, it was quiet and muffled.

If his brain weren't so foggy from sleep, he would've been suspicious.

But, alas...

* * *

Hunk should've looked for Keith.

Instead, he walked to breakfast, fatigue eating at his bones, and sleep fogging up his brain.

Inside of the dining room, everyone was in their respective spots- except for Lance and Keith.

"Did... did the toxin wear off early?" Hunk asked, jaw cracking when he yawned. He plopped into the seat beside Pidge, who had her head on the table, a cup of coffee in front of her (Turns out, Alteans had coffee too, and what a blessing it was). "Ar'they cuddling?"

Shiro coughed, choking on his  _green tea_ (Alteans had that too. Shiro and Allura are  _heathens_.) "W-what?"

"He slept with me last night," Hunk mumbled, dropping his chin onto his hand. He shut his eyes, because it was early morning and he got four hours of sleep. Probably. "Wasn't there this morning."

"And... Lance isn't here," Allura examined, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Um, yeah?" Hunk cracked his eyes open, watching a blurry Shiro and Allura exchange looks. They were so hopeless. "There was also this yellin' coming from Lance's room."

And Shiro was gone, mug in pieces on the floor.

Then it hit him.

And he was gone, too.

* * *

Lance and Keith love eachother, but they also love Hunk.

It gets complicated, because they don’t know how to feel about it.

Lance explained to Keith what ‘poly’ meant, but he was certain Hunk didn’t like them or want that, especially with Shay in the mix. 

So they suffered in peace, and Keith tried so hard not to let his feeling show.

Until last night.

He had woken up from yet another nightmare, and because of that stupid bug bite, he couldn’t go to Lance for comfort.

It was one of his recurring ones-

The team abandons him because he's part Galra, say they don't love him; Shit like that. Keith knows-  _he knows_ it's not true, but he can't help but think that they're telling the truth...

Maybe they don't love him. Maybe they only have him on the team because Red is stubborn and wouldn't want another paladin... Maybe Red is just keeping him until someone better comes along-

An image of a lion cuddling with their cub flashes in his brain.

He can't necessarily deny the love Red has for him, but the others...

He'll never know.

Just like he won't know what woke him up.

Opening his eyes, he noticed that they had positioned themselves to spoon overnight. He doesn't know how it didn't wake him up, but he doesn't really care. It's warm and... it's safe.

Keith hasn't felt this safe in years- minus when he was with Lance, of course.

And then he notices the hand over his mouth.

Fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins, he thrashes against it, only to find his wrists held by another. He's starting to realize that he's not getting enough oxygen; is his nose covered too?

He would kick at the figure holding him down, but they're held down by Hunk's legs and the mountain of blankets.

He can't see who's holding him- it's too dark, and he can't yell for the lights to be adjusted.

Dark spots are filling his vision, and he isn't sure how much longer he can last without air. His body keeps jerking against the person holding him, because he can't breathe-  _he can't breat_ -

Suddenly, he's pulled off of the bed, kicking Hunk in the stomach in the process. Hunk just grunts and rolls over, completely oblivious to Keith's distress. The hand around his mouth is still there, and so is the one around his wrists, but his legs. His legs are free. He pulls them both back and bends them, aiming to the blurry human shaped figure crouching over him. He kicks upwards, hopefully landing a painful blow to their abdomen. The person lets out a grunt, falling on their ass. The hand around his mouth and arms disappear, and before he knows it, he's sitting up, one hand over his chest and the other supporting him as he gulps in large mouthfuls of air.

He doesn't know what to do.

If someone invaded the ship and is trying to kill them, he'd have to get to Allura, or the bridge and start the alarm, somehow. 

But he can't leave Hunk.

Hunk is a deep sleeper, and he would sleep through someone trying to kill him.

"Lights on!" He calls, somehow not waking Hunk up, as the figure moves towards him.

Even though it leaves him vulnerable, he squeezes his eyes shut as they turn on. It wouldn't do him any good if he's half blind and has to fight a Ga-

It's Lance.

Relaxing a bit, he turns his head to the clock Hunk keeps in his room. It reads 7:33am, and something isn't right- Lance always,  _always_ , sleeps in. He's never up before eight.

Just as he opens his mouth to question it, Lance leaps on him, hand covering his mouth and nose, while his knees pin down his hands. He's straddling Keith, making his legs useless, and Keith can't fight back- because he physically can't. It's Lance, bug bite toxin or not, and he'll never hurt Lance. 

Instead, he struggles futilely, trying to breathe the air that isn't entering his system. He tries licking Lance's hand, but it doesn't work. Lance has never cared if Keith got spit on him before, why would it start now? Lance just mutters 'gross' under his breath, and presses down tighter. He would try to scratch his knees, but he can't. Lance's knees are close to breaking his fingers. He can try flipping him off. Lance's position is wrong and unpracticed, like he's never done this in bed with Keith before- He doesn't know if Lance would get hurt or not, and he doesn't want to risk it.

The dark spots are getting bigger, his struggling is getting weaker, and he feels himself slipping. He's losing a battle to keep his eyes open, and he realizes he doesn't have a choice.

With the last of his energy, he does what they do in training when this happens (and in bed), and throws Lance off of himself. He scrambles to his feet, gasping harshly, and runs for the door. Lance won't touch Hunk. The only reason he's being violent is because Keith was stupid enough to go to Hunk for his problems. He was  _stupid_. He could've gone to Pidge, or Allura- well, maybe not Allura. He doesn't know where she or Coran sleeps, and he doesn't think she'd be good at comforting. Shiro has his own nightmares to deal with, but Pidge, he's gone to her before. He could've done it again.

He dashes into the dark hallway, hopefully turning left in search of Shiro's room. Shiro subdued Lance before, he can do it again.

He reaches his own door-

Someone crashes into him from behind, knocking him onto the floor. Just as he's blinking away the stars in his vision, someone (Lance) straddles him from behind, twisting his arms behind his back painfully. Keith grits his teeth against the pain; It would mean nothing if he cries out now. Everyone, save for Hunk, would be at breakfast already, too far for them to hear his screams.

Something locks around his wrists, keeping his arms in that position. It's painful, and probably close to breaking, but Lance doesn't seem to care as he sharply pulls on his arms. Keith lets out a strangled cry, thrashing underneath him. Lance keeps a hand on his arms to keep them down, but his other hand comes up and yanks Keith's head up by his hair viciously. Keith sets his jaw, lips tight.

"You will die," Lance hisses, breath warm against his ear. “Because no one loves you enough to come help you. They’d gladly get rid of a piece of garbage like you.”

Keith remembers when he liked Lance breathing on him.

Now it terrifies him.

Lance lets go, and unable to stop himself, his head slams against the floor. He groans, black dots spotting his vision,  _again_. 

Fingers wrap around his ankles and pulls him. The ground is rough beneath his thin clothing, and it's hard to not make noise, when all he wants to do is scream his head off. Lance shouldn't scare him, but he does, and he can't figure out why. He's one of the boys Keith loves. He shouldn't scare him.

He tries to twist away from Lance, but Lance has always been stronger than him. Lance continues to pull, acting as if Keith's struggling is nothing but a pesky mosquito that he doesn't care to stop.

He's dragged into Lance's room, and it should be comforting, but it's not.

Nothing of Lance's comforts him anymore.

It just scares him.

Lance's room is mostly bare, except for the junk that Keith and Lance put in there. It's more of a storage room with a bathroom now, because they use a bigger room. When they first got together, Coran seemed to know, and gave them a bigger bedroom. No one questioned it, and Keith is beginning to suspect that they know of their relationship. They aren't the best liars, but they don't kiss or cuddle in public. They still argue and bicker, but there's no malice behind it. It's more like playful teasing now.

His foot is dropped onto the ground, and Lance is disappearing behind a few boxes. Keith tries to get to his feet, but Lance is back just as fast as he left, pulling both of his feet into his lap as he sits down, legs crossed beneath him. He's humming a song that used to calm Keith down, but it does nothing to help him now. The Lance Keith knew before is gone, replaced by a husk filled with a toxin from a  _bug_.

He hates that bug.

Lance is wrapping something around his ankles, but he can't see what it is. It's too dark, but it feels tight, and it restrains him from separating his legs. Keith lands a two footed kick to Lance's stomach, again, and it kills him, but Lance is going to kill him. Hurting Lance is his only choice right now.

Grunting, Lance scowls at Keith. He pulls Keith up by the collar of his shirt, feet forgotten, and stares into his eyes. Keith swallows harshly, eyes wide. 

Lance backhands him.

It sends him reeling, head snapping to the side from the strength. He tastes blood, his cheek is burning, and Lance has dropped him back onto the floor.

He always knew Lance was strong, but he never knew how strong. He never realized that Lance had held his punches when he trained with Keith. He must've let Keith win sometimes, if he's struggling with tears after a simple backhand.

The same substance is wrapped around his knees, making his lower half almost completely immobile. Lance proceeds to wrap it around his thighs, just as he's starting to find his voice again.

"Lights on," Keith yells, voice shaking with fear. He doesn't like showing vulnerability, but Lance is terrifying him. He doesn't know if he's going to get  _his_ Lance back.

He doesn't have time to process the hand on his shirt before he's backhanded again.

Something wet drips down his cheek, and he's completely certain that the inside of his mouth is bleeding. Lance is glaring at him from above, a roll of duct tape in his hands.

Duct tape?

"The... w-where'd you get-?" Another backhand. Keith bites his lip. It feels like his cheek is broken.

"Stop talking," Lance growls. his voice dark, as he drags Keith's head up by his hair. It stings, badly, but he doesn't make a sound. 

He's learned his lesson.

Lance rips a piece of duct tape off, then presses it against Keith's mouth. It's pressed against Keith's cheeks, and his eyes are starting to tear up. His right eye feels swollen.

He tapes his arms to his body by wrapping duct tape around his torso.

Keith can't move his limbs.

"If you keep struggling, I'll tape your ankles to your wrists," Lance threatens, right before grabbing the back of Keith's shirt. He doesn't struggle, because he  _knows_ how painful that position is, especially if left in it for more than an hour, but he's still terrified. "Lights off."

Lance is going to kill him.

And he's not going to regret it.

* * *

Despite his weight, Hunk can run fast, especially if the people he loves are in danger.

So when he figured out what Lance was doing (well, he's got the general idea of what he's doing), he had ran past Shiro, and was already in the room before the door had opened half way. The idiot forgot to lock it, and wow, for once in this hellish two days, Hunk's glad that the toxin is messing with Lance's brain. If he were in his right of mind, he'd- He wouldn't be hurting Keith, first of all, but that's not his point. If Lance were in his right of mind, he would've locked the door.

The lights are off, but he can still see the boxes and junk that they obviously threw in here.

"Lights on," Hunk says, voice sounding a lot angrier than he intended it to be. He decides he doesn't care.

He scans the room, and notices the bathroom door is shut, but light is peeking out of the bottom.

He notices the blood on the floor.

There isn't a lot, but there's enough to piss Hunk off even more.

The bastard cut him, or something.

When Shiro comes in, he doesn't question the storage stuff. He probably knows too. They probably all know.

His face in contorted in rage, and Hunk  _swears_ there's steam coming out of his ears.

Then he notices the blood.

Shiro roars, an inhuman sound that scares the shit out of Hunk, his hand glowing. Hunk can only stand and stare as Shiro charges at the bathroom door, trying to open it. When it doesn't open, Shiro shoves his prosthetic hand into it, and pulls it apart.

Now that there's nothing in the way, Hunk can hear the noises coming from it. Shiro has disappeared inside, and Hunk is just getting to the door when he starts to hear it.

There's splashing, flesh hitting metal, water hitting the floor. There's a crash- Hunk watches in horror as Lance is thrown at the  _metal_ sink. Even though Shiro's protective, and Lance is hurting his kind-of-brother, that's going a little far. Hitting something metal like that could damage the guy.

He came in the room to help Keith, but now Lance is crumpled by the sink, limp and unmoving, small groans escaping his lips, and he knows that Shiro can take care of Keith. He also knows that touching Lance will keep the toxin in him for longer, but he doesn't care. Lance is still his best friend (and crush), and he needs help. And besides, this way, Lance will stay away from Keith, and therefor, will stop hurting him.

He kneels by Lance, taking his wrist into his hand, and places a thumb over his pulse.

It fluttered when Hunk touched him but it remained steady after that.

"I think he needs a h-" He turns to look at Shiro, and ends up dropping to his knees across from him, Lance forgotten.

Keith is covered in water and duct tape, limbs pinned down. He's got a red mark over his lips, probably from the duct tape in Shiro's hands, his cheek is swollen and bruised, and his skin is way too pale. The tub is still draining, and there's a ripped piece of duct tape attached to the metal pole that holds the curtains. He's breathing, but his eyes are closed, and it looks like he's unconscious,  _again_.

"Is he..." Hunk trails off, because no, Keith is definitely  _not_ okay. He's just been tied- well, taped- up by his boyfriend, then drowned, and no one even thought to check Lance's room, Hunk especially, before it was  _almost_ too late.

"He didn't breathe in too much water," Shiro muttered, burning through the duct tape that kept his arms to his chest. Hunk busied himself with getting the handcuffs ( _Nyma's_ handcuffs) off. "He should be okay. Physically," the last part is said quietly, but Hunk hears it. He understands what Shiro means.

"I can... Pidge and I can make something so that if Lance gets too close to Keith, he gets a shock," Hunk suggests, the handcuffs finally coming off. "It might take a few... hours, but-"

"Do it," Shiro growls, burning off the duct tape around his ankles. "I don't care how long, just do it."

Hunk has never seen Shiro so mad before.

* * *

When they get Lance into a healing pod, because yes, Shiro did break a few of his bones with that throw, and Keith settled on the couch, Hunk tells Pidge of his idea, and that Shiro is very okay with it.

Pidge agrees, then shoos Hunk out of her work space, because it would take longer if it were her and someone else in there working on it (and because Keith needs comfort Shiro can't provide, but she didn't say that. She  _looked that._ )

Hunk made his way to the common room, where they had put Keith on the couch with a blanket, a warm beverage in his hands. The water Lance had put him in was below 0, close to -10 degrees Celsius, and he  _almost_ got hypothermia. Almost.

He doesn't know if anyone else was with him, but it's fine, because Lance is in a healing pod and unable to touch Keith at the moment.

He's safe, and he has to keep telling himself that, because his stupid brain won't believe it.

When he does enter the common room, he finds Keith curled underneath a thin blanket and shivering, drink tipped over on the floor. He's sleeping.

With a fond smile, Hunk walks into the room and drapes his vest over Keith's torso.

The shivers lessen slightly, but it's a difference nonetheless. 

The vest covers almost all of his upper half, and it's  _adorable_. He understands why Lance loved Keith wearing his jacket. He looks so tiny and cute.

"Lights off," He says quietly, then leaves the room.

Keith doesn't wake up, but the smile that started to graze his lips is undeniable.

Hunk wishes he had a camera.

* * *

They're locking Lance in his room.

They don't trust him to be wandering the Castle, _alone_ , without supervision.

He could walk in on Hunk hugging someone, or someone looking _in his general direction._

And then someone would end up hurt.

Again.

* * *

Keith found him two hours later, the only thing indicating that he had hypothermia was the blanket around his shoulders, and the pink tint to the top of his nose.

Hunk doesn’t know how long it takes to get rid of hypothermia, but he’s certain it shouldn’t take this long, and the air conditioned, well, air probably doesn’t help.

His vest was draped over Keith’s forearm and, honestly, Hunk forgot he gave him the jacket. Not that he regretted it in the slightest.

Hunk is currently stress-cooking, again, and silently fuming over what Lance did, because that was _not_ right, and he doesn’t give a shit if it’s because of the toxin, it was bad, and Hunk’s not going to talk to him for a long while-

“Hey,” Keith said quietly, sitting on the counter. His arms shook when he pulled himself on- from exertion or the cold, Hunk didn’t know, but he didn’t back down. He crossed his legs beneath them, and slumped over, eyes fluttering closed.

”Hey,” Hunk parroted, slicing the beef-like produce (they did not kill Kaltenecker, even if Allura suggested it. She was shunned for a week straight). 

The silence after that wasn’t anywhere near awkward or tense- in fact, it was comfortable. The only thing that broke it were the sizzling of meat against a pan, and Keith’s sniffles.

”Still cold?” Hunk asked hesitantly, taking the beef off of the pan and onto a plate. It smelt just like how his mother used to make it, and that was great. Keith would love them.

”Yeah,” Keith said, voice shaking. Hunk turned off the stove-thing; He could finish up later. Lunch wasn’t for another two hours anyways.

”If you want, I can make more of that hot choclate thing,” Hunk offered, and it didn’t matter what Keith answered with. He was going to force Keith to drink it, even if he didn’t want to.

”Uh, y-yeah,” Keith stuttered, blush rising to his cheeks. Why was he blushing? “Please.”

Hunk nodded, then opened the Altean hot-fridge. Coran put the leftover hot chocolate in there when it was finished, and hopefully, it had kept the drink warm. He wasn’t really sure how the hot fridge worked, but he knew it was warm-

“Hey- why don’t you stand in front of the hot fridge?” Hunk suggested, opening the door fully.

”What is it?” Keith asked, getting off of the counter. He shivered a bit, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. He left Hunk’s vest on the counter- it probably wouldn’t help much without sleeves anyways.

”A hot fridge,” Hunk grinned, snatching Keith’s wrist and pulling him to it. Keith yelped, stumbling into Hunk.

Hunk froze, unsure of what to do. He wasn’t sure if he were crossing some boundary of Keith’s. When he’d done it before, Keith was hurt and tired and delusional. He’d probably get upset if he knew that Hunk was-

Keith snuggles closer, hands clutching his shirt. He sighed slightly, cheeks burning red. “T-this... this is good. Better.”

Hunk doesn’t respond.

He wraps his arms around Keith’s back instead, and hoping to any God out there that his crush is _not_ unrequited. 

He knows this is wrong.

He knows Keith is dating Lance, and toxin or not, they’re still dating. He shouldn’t be taking advantage of Keith’s vulnerable state.

But he knows that if Keith were affected by the toxin...

He’d do the same thing with Lance-

“Hunk?”

Hunk nearly shrieks, throwing himself off of Keith.

Hurt flashes across Keith’s face, but he doesn’t really have time to feel sorry about it. Lance is standing in the doorway, giving Keith a death glare.

Keith looks down and hugs himself, shoulders hunched.

Hunk growls, stepping between him and Lance. There will _not_ be a repeat of last time, and he’s going to make that _clear_. “Lance,” Hunk hissed, crossing his arms protectively, hoping that his huge frame covers Keith. “Don’t-“

”It’s okay, Hunk,” and Pidge was there, standing beside Lance. She was attaching something to his wrist- Something blue with a red button in the centre. “I’m just testing the device.”

”What device?”

Keith pokes his head above Hunk’s shoulder, confused etched onto his face.

Pidge’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell him?!” Pidge shout-asked, arms flailing wildly.

”It, uh...” He scratched his cheek nervously. He forgot to tell Keith. “It slipped my mind?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, just as Keith asked: “What does it do?”

”If he gets too close, it’ll give him a small zap,” Pidge explained, securing it around his wrist. Lance was vibrating, eyes locked on Hunk, a grin stretched across his face.

Keith blanched behind him, walking until he was beside Hunk. He was scowling, arms crossed, and Hunk finds it adorable- “What do you mean?” He growls, and wow, Keith is protective. He wishes Keith were that protective over him-

“It’s no more than what you get from the electric maze,” Pidge assures him, stepping aside. “He’ll be fine. Take five steps.”

”No!” Keith snaps, backing up a few steps. “It will hurt him!”

”It’s not going to be bad.”

”I’m not going to be the reason he gets hurt!” Tears are brimming on the edge of Keith’s eyes, and he’s reminded all too suddenly of the story Pidge told him.

_He... he told me that when I came in, he had just woken up from a nightmare where I had died and it was his fault._

”Pidge-“ He tries to warm her, but she’s starting to grow frustrated, and she doesn’t think straight when she’s frustrated.

”Keith, this is the only way-“

”You can make him a cure!”

”Pidge, lis-“

”Hunk, shut the fuck up!” Pidge snapped, barely even turning to face him. She’s glaring at Keith, her arms thrown in the air. “Lance has nearly killed you, like, three times now! He can’t just-!”

”Hunk, can I-“

“You think I don’t know that?” Keith’s voice is dangerously low, hands balled into fists at his side. Somehow, this scares Hunk more than the yelling had. “I was the one who dealt with- with the harassment, the wrist twisting, the drowning; Not you, Pidge. None of you did. I should be the one to decide whether or not I’m safe to be around him. As long as I don’t touch Hunk, Lance won’t attack me,” Keith is unnervingly still, back straight and jaw set. He and Pidge are having an intense staring contest- One that Pidge seems to be losing.

”I-“ Pidge rubs her fist in her eye, composure shattering. “I can’t lose another brother,” she’s whispering, but her voice is still shaking.

Keith blanched, eyes going wide. His mouth is opening and closing as if he can’t find the words to say. All of his rage disappeared into thin air, replaced with shock. He shuts his mouth firmly, biting his bottom lip as a tear falls down his cheek, followed by others. Pidge is the same, but without so many tears. She refused to let any fall, and instead stands there, shaking like a leaf in the wind, hands hugging herself.

Keith gets on one knee and opens his arms, a silent offer that Pidge understood immediately.

Pidge moves slowly, still trembling, crumbling in tears when she falls to her knees in front of him, arms snaking around his waist. Keith, the robot he is, just stares ahead, few tears falling down his face, as he wraps his arm around her back and cups the back of her neck, guiding it to his shoulder. He lowers his knee and kneels in front of her, slumping over so they're at a closer height.

Lance is still standing in the doorway, smiling at Hunk as if this bonding moment isn't even happening. With a grimace, Hunk looks back at the duo. Keith has his head tucked into Pidge's shoulder, back shaking with silent tears. Pidge seems to be comforting him, now, as her hand is rubbing his back and her cheek is on his shoulder. She's whispering 'I'm sorry,' over and over.

Hunk decides this is a good time to leave.

He tells himself he didn't see Keith's eyes follow him leave.

* * *

By the time dinner rolls around, they've tried training.

It didn't end very well, and they've decided that if an on-foot mission is needed, Lance is staying on the Castle.

Hunk sets out the left over perogies (Three hundred and ninety six, to be exact. He made a lot), and tries not to blush when Keith thanks him with a small smile, practically inhaling them.

He shouldn't find that hot, but he does, and he doesn't regret it.

* * *

Keith comes to him again that night.

They end up spooning each other, Keith being the little spoon, and luckily, Keith has regained some of his body heat.

Hunk throws an arm over his waist and tries not to think about how romantic this  _could_ be.

* * *

In the morning, Hunk makes sure to either A: Not fall asleep, or B: Wake up first.

There will not be a repeat of last time.

They locked Lance's room shut over night, and took the bracelet zapper thing off. Hunk had explained to Pidge, after she calmed down, that Keith was afraid of hurting them and being abandoned. She had nearly started to cry again, but nodded, and took off in Lance's direction.

Hunk blinks sluggishly, opening his eyes, moving his hand to wipe the gunk out of them-

But he can't.

Panic surging through his veins, his eyes snap open. The lights aren't off, so he can see mostly fine. They've been dimmed, and he's having a hard time adjusting to the empty space in front of him.

Wait- no. It's not an empty space.

It's Keith, curled up on his side and using Hunk's shirt as a blanket. He's shivering, Hunk's hand trapped in between both of his. They feel like ice, as do his feet. Maybe his hypothermia hadn't gone away after all. His other arm is wrapped around Keith's exposed waist, holding him close. The sweatpants he'd worn last night were clearly Lance's; They were pooling around his ankles, and a Blue Lion has been embroidered onto the thigh covering. He was shirtless (but that was fine, because Hunk didn't blush at that incredibly muscled abdomen, no siree) with a thin, teal blanket wrapped around his shoulders, held tightly in his fists. He was trembling, but, because he couldn't see Keith's red tipped nose, he assumed it was from another nightmare.

He was mistaken.

So, to make up for his assumptions, he pulls one of those incredibly thick blankets over Keith and himself, then pulls Keith a little closer. He makes sure that Keith is still asleep before he buries his nose in his hair (also, maybe, kind of, putting Keith's head under his chin).

"Heat up by fifteen percent," Hunk whispers, then shuts his eyes again, not bothering to look at the time.

The sounds of Keith's cute, quiet snores and the vent ( _the vent?_ ) lull him to sleep.

* * *

_"You think I ever loved you?"_

_Someone laughed behind him._

_His outstretched hand remained in the air as he froze in shock._

_"You're the one who caused this," Lance gestured to his insecurities, which were somehow floating in the air, and the missing half of his lower body._

_Keith choked on his words._

_That had been his fault, hadn't it?_

_There was a bomb, and he was frozen to the spot because of some stupid fucking panic attack-_

_"He's right," Allura said lowly, and it scared him more than when she yelled. "If you weren't Galra, then maybe-"_

_"Hey," Hunk randomly appeared beside him, a comforting hand on his shoulder. Keith flinched. "Let me have a turn," Hunk tightened his grip until he could hear bones cracking. Keith whimpered in pain, trying to curl away from Hunk. Hunk just held tighter, earning an agonized scream._

_"Would you look at that," Someone scoffed. All of the voices were blurring together as Hunk held tighter. It felt like his arm was being ripped off, and he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. "Can't even protect himself."_

_"How are you even a Paladin?"_

_How could you think they ever loved you?_

* * *

 Keith woke up with a gasp, covered in a cold sweat.

Images of Christmas mornings, family dinners, lions cuddling their cubs and their food fight all flashed through his brain, but Keith couldn't process it. He was too focused on trying to control his breathing and to keep the tears at bay.

Breathing still off, he curled closer to Hunk's side. He was shivering and he didn't know why; the air felt really warm. Well- mildly warm. Ish.

He pulled Hunk's unbuttoned shirt over himself, unsure of where the blankets were, and too lazy to get up. He took Hunk's hand in between his, smiling when Hunk squeezed it in his sleep. During the night, Keith had flipped around somehow (he didn't really care how). He pressed his face into Hunk's chest and closed his eyes, using Hunk's heartbeat to soothe him to sleep, despite the oncoming panic attack.

* * *

 They tried training again.

They decided that, even though Lance wasn't really Lance, he couldn't go a week without training.

Instead of their normal mind-bonding then physical contact training, they decided to stick with just physical contact. They didn't need to go into each other's brains right now.

Keith didn't need to go into Lance's brain right now.

They were going to fight against each other, all except for Lance, with just their fists. If they used their bayards, it was an unfair advantage to some of them (Specifically, Lance and Hunk).

It went by Hunk and Shiro (Shiro won), Pidge and Shiro (Shiro  _let_ Pidge win), Pidge and Keith (They ended up pinning each other. Keith almost broke Pidge's wrist, and Pidge almost broke Keith's arm. They both refused to forfeit), Keith and Shiro (Shiro forfeited because he almost broke Keith's neck when Shiro flipped him off of his back), Pidge and Hunk (Pidge won).

The last to go was Hunk and Keith.

When Keith got up, Hunk remained sitting, and shook his head. "No."

Keith froze, eyes wide. "What?"

"I'm not gonna fight you," Hunk clarified, not bothering to shake Lance off of his arm.

Keith scowled. "And why not?"

"Because," Hunk pointed to Lance. "You're in a bad state right now, and you don't need me touching you even more," Keith blushed fiercely, ignoring Lance's glare and coughing to hide it. "While we train. Lance'll probably flip out."

Lance remained oblivious, trailing kisses up his arm. Hunk blushed, but didn't remove him. They could wait a little longer. It was a hassle to keep him away, and it was only for two hours. They could lock him in his room afterwards. "I-"

"I think Hunk is right," Pidge said, looking up from her tablet. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. "If Hunk continues to touch you, Lance is going to-"

"Training is done for the day," Shiro said, pushing himself off of the wall. Keith gaped at him, eyes wide like a deer stuck in headlights. They quickly narrowed into a glare. "If he ends up hurting you again-"

"I'm not some fragile object!" Keith yelled, flailing his arms in the air. It was loud enough to startle Lance and make him glare, but not enough to stop him. "I can take care of myself-!"

"Like you did when Lance took you-"

"What does this have to do with anything?!" Keith hissed, crossing his arms. "That was yesterday, and I'm clearly fine now!"

"Minus the shivers," Hunk muttered between a fake cough. Keith gave him a look of betrayal, and Hunk's heart shattered. "It's fine, guys. I'll fight him-"

"No," Keith's tone left no room for argument. Hunk sank back down, eyes anywhere but Keith's. "I want to fight Lance."

"Keith, no-"

"It's too dangerous-"

"I don't care! I can fight him; I've done it before, and I haven't touched Hunk all day, so it won't be fatal injuries," Pidge gave Keith an unimpressed look. She gave Hunk a knowing smirk this morning when Keith staggered out of his room at 7:30am, hair disheveled and clothes crumpled. "I'll be fine. You guys are here this time."

Shiro sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine, but if anything goes wrong-"

"Lance, c'mon," Keith interrupted him, kicking Lance lightly. Lance's smile cracked but he continued to pester Hunk. Keith dragged a hand down his face, then held out his hand for Hunk to take.

"W-wha-"

"Just take it," Keith shook it around, trying to capture Hunk's attention. Forcing the blush down, he dwarfed Keith's hand with his free one.

* * *

 Lance immediately shot up with a glare, giving Keith a hard shove and forcing their hands apart. "Mine," he hissed, approaching Keith. Keith grimaced, then readied himself in a defensive stance. "Oh, you're finally gonna fight?" Lance mocked him, aiming a punch for Keith's nose. Keith dodged it, grabbing Lance's wrist and pulling him forward. Lance stumbled, but pulled it out of Keith's grasp. "I thought you were gonna be a weak loser for the rest of your pathetic-"

Keith shut him up with a punch to his jaw. "Shut up," he hissed, kicking at Lance's knee.

Lance grabbed it with a smirk, forcing it backwards so he'd knee himself in the jaw. Keith stumbled backwards, not having time to dodge the punch to his eye. He pulled Keith close by both of his wrists, earning a knee to the stomach. Instead of letting go, he followed Keith’s example and kneed Keith in the stomach, which earned him a choked breath, and hooked a leg around the back of his knees and pulled, moving out of the way and letting go before Keith could catch himself on Lance. He fell to the ground with a small grunt, then rolled onto his back, prepared to kick out Lance's leg.

Before he could, however, Lance straddled Keith, with the right form this time, and pinned Keith down.

“Forfeit?” Lance smirked, grabbing Keith’s wrists.

”Fuck you,” Keith spat, head butting Lance.

Lance winced, gritting his teeth, but held his ground. He placed both of Keith’s wrists into one hand, then pressed down on Keith’s stomach. Keith gasped harshly, jerking in Lance’s grasp.

”That’s enough,” Shiro growled, somewhere behind them.

”Lanc-“

He cut off with a small gasp, Lance's hands locking together and squeezing around his neck. With wide eyes, he grabbed Lance's wrist with his own, but he couldn't pull them off- and oh God, Shiro was right- they were all right, he was useless-

"Would you look at that," Lance remarked, and he couldn't tell with the spots in his vision or the ringing in his hears, but he thought he saw Hunk- "Can't even protect yourself."

It was his nightmare all over again.

* * *

Hunk jumped up just as soon as Keith was pinned.

Shiro beat him there, wrapping his arms around Lance's waist and pulling, but Lance wouldn't budge. He just snarled at them, holding tighter. Keith wheezed beneath him, fingers going slack.

"Lance, get off-!"

Without any words, Hunk pushed Shiro off. Shiro let out an angered yell, but Hunk ignored it. He wrapped his arms around Lance's stomach and pulled. "It's Hunk," he said, and Lance let go, going limp in Hunk's arms as he tried to hug his neck backwards.

Keith gasped in a large breath of air, sitting up with Pidge's hand on his back. He thanked her quietly, ignoring Hunk's eyes. Hunk frowned slightly, setting Lance on the floor. Lance didn't let go, instead pulling Hunk down with him.

"Shiro?" Hunk asked loudly, trying to tug his arm away from Lance. "I think it reached it's peak. Can you bring him to his room, ple-?"

Shiro was pulling Lance off of the floor. Lance screamed, hand losing it's grip on Hunk.

_Thank God._

Hunk crawled over to Keith, ignoring the bruises that were starting to form around his neck, on his eye, and on his jaw. "You okay?" He asked hesitantly, patting Keith's foot. Pidge was still there, hand rubbing his back. Keith gave him a thumbs up, still trying to regulate his breathing.

"I'm sorry," Pidge whispered, letting go of Keith. Keith looked at her with a confused look, but slumped over, mind going blank. "We have to put the bracelet on him."

Keith breathes shakily, gingerly bringing a hand to his throat. He wince's when they touch the bruises. "'kay."

Pidge apologizes once more, pats his shoulder, and leaves the room. They're left in a tense silence. Hunk isn't sure how to help-

With a shallow sigh, Keith scoots closer to him, leaning his head on Hunk's shoulder. Unsure of what to do, Hunk sits there, stiff as a board.

Finally, after a long, uncomfortable,  _awkward_ , silence, Keith huffs, wrapping an arm around Hunk's waist. "I wan'a hug," He mutters, burying his face into Hunk's shirt.

Hunk complies, practically pulling Keith into his lap as he returns the hug.

He isn't surprised by the damp spot on his shirt.

* * *

He hears sobbing through the walls that night. Somehow, Hunk thinks it relates to Keith not coming to his room.

* * *

The Galra attack the next day.

* * *

 "Hunk, you're tasked with keeping an eye on the Aljuriann's and keeping them safe. You'll be waiting in this room," Allura swipes with her left hand as Shiro explains, pulling up  a screen that showed a room in the King's castle. "with your bayard ready. Keith, you will be waiting outside of that hallway, keeping any offenders from the room," Keith and Hunk nod determinedly. "Pidge, you and I will be fighting the Galra in our lions. Everyone understand?"

There was a chorus of determined "Yeah's".

"Let's go, team-"

"What about me?" Lance piped up, a frown decorating his face.

Allura shifted from foot to foot, a sympathetic look on her face. She looked to Shiro with a look in her eyes that said 'help'. "Er..."

"Bedroom eyes," Pidge coughs under her breath, sending Hunk into a fit of laughter. Keith stifles a snort with his hand, arm wrapped around his stomach.

"Excuse me, but what are bedroom eyes?" Allura asks, pure, innocent curiosity on her face, while Shiro glares at them.

"Well, it's when tw-"

"Nothing! It means nothing," Shiro interrupts, a panicked expression overtaking his face, along with a bright red blush. "Lance, you'll be staying on the ship with Allura."

"But I can help protect Hunk!" Lance smiled brightly, winking at Hunk. Hunk tried to ignore the way Keith flinched and turned his head away.

"No, Lan-"

"I'm going! You can't stop me!"

Shiro huffed. "Fine, but if you listen to Hunk. If you do anything-"

"I know, I know, I get sent to my room. Let's go!"

* * *

 Keith huffed impatiently, arms crossed tightly across his chest. His bayard was hanging uselessly from his hand, deactivated. He had been in this position for the last twenty minutes, and there was still  _nothing_.

He could hear the battle from his comms, the way Shiro and Pidge worked in near sync. There were lots of explosions and cheers, but he knew they wouldn't be done anytime soon, which made the waiting a whole lot more bothersome.

Knowing no Galra were going to come anytime soon, he decided to let his mind wander, ignoring Hunk's annoyed orders and the sounds of battle and Lan- he ignored it all, instead choosing to think about the events from the past four days.

He doesn't necessarily remember the first day and a half. Most of it was a blur. He remembered going through the forest, then being brutally attacked by  _a tree_ , then not being able to breathe, then being shoved into a pit of blue mud and drowning. He remembered being carried and insulted, but it's... a blur. He can't remember who insulted him or who carried him- He just knows it happened. The second day; he let himself be vulnerable, in front of Hunk, no less. He'd never done that before- Well, he had once, but he wasn't in his right of mind, per se. He had just narrowly beat a level twelve training bot, and had decided to relax and wait for Lance on the observatory deck. He hadn't showed, but Hunk had. Hunk carried him back to Lance, and he had told him that the only thing he missed from Earth, next to perogies, was hippos. On the third day, he'd fucked up completely. He shouldn't have gone to Hunk's room again. It was stupid. He could deal with nightmares on his own-

"-ith!" Keith startled, hands flying out, bayard activated into a sword. "Keith, we do not need a repeat of that mission!"

"Wh-" Keith's brows furrowed. What mission? "What?"

"You like, zoned out, or something. We thought you got hurt!" Hunk cried, much to an annoyed Lance's displeasure.

"Huuunk, pay attention to-"

"Lance, shut up for two God damn seconds or-" Keith balled his non-sword wielding hand into a fist, trying to calm himself. _This isn't Lance, it's just the toxin speaking-_

"Or what?" Lance scoffed through the comms. Everyone else grew silent; the only sound from the others was the battle in the sky and the occasional grunt. "You'll fight me? I think we already established that I'm stronger than you, dumbass. You couldn't fight an ant-!"

"There it is!" Someone with a gruff voice called, followed with a chorus of pounding footsteps. 

 _S_ _hit_.

He got into a defensive stance, sword held out in front of him, ignoring Lance in the comms. He could talk to him later, when he's toxin wears out. Right now, it's at it's peak, and Keith doesn't have time to deal with it.

Three Galra soldiers appeared around the corner, followed by at least a dozen sentries. The one in the middle of the three, presumably the leader, grinned viciously, drool dripping off it's sharp teeth. He had a prosthetic arm of sorts, spikes coming out of each joint. The one on the left was missing a mouth, but there weren't any other enhancements. It had a blaster up and ready, aimed at Keith. Keith activated his particle shield, deflecting a shot. He didn't have time to look at the third one- The sentries started firing. He ducked behind a wall, pressing his side against it. At times like these, he needed a gun, or  _Lance_. Lance could've shot them all down by now, without a single stray shot- 

"Guys," He started, because now was not the time to be thinking about that- "There's at least 15 Galra here," He peeked his head around the corner, doing a quick count with his shield in front of his face. 15; he was right. He could probably take them all on, if he had a gun, or something. He couldn't take that many drones, unless he could get close enough... The Galra he hadn't had time to look at was approaching faster than the rest. He had a missing right eye, and a bionic right arm- He looked a lot like Sendak. Could it be..?

No- no, it couldn't be. They shot him into space nearly a year ago.

He ducked back behind the wall and crouched. He would stab at the Galra's legs when he got close enough-

"Keith, do you need backup?" Shiro asked, voice calm and steady.

"N-no. I'm fine," Keith's voice shook at the beginning; He wasn't sure why. He couldn't be scared, could he? "Keep fighting. I'll be go-"

The Galra grabbed the blade of his sword, and pulled him forwards. With a stumble, he managed to steady himself-

With a cry, Keith held up his flickering shield. One shot had hit his bicep, and the other... He looked down shakily. His side had a large blaster wound in it, bleeding sluggishly but heavily. The Galra smirked at him, all of his sharp teeth showing. He took a step forward, arm shooting out. Keith stumbled backwards, bringing up his sword hand to protect himself, but he was too slow. Be it the lack of adrenaline, or the wounds on his side, he didn't know. All he knew was that a hand knocked him backwards, sending him flying and crashing into a wall.

It took him several minutes for him to open his eyes. There was ringing in his ears, accompanied with a static feeling in his head. He groaned quietly, pushing himself onto wobbly arms. His vision swam, as he sat up, slumping against the stone. Breathing shouldn't hurt. He coughed harshly, blood splattering the ground beneath his legs and dribbling down his chin. Purple figures, probably Galra, were approaching him. Their blasters were activated, a magenta light coming from the barrels. 

"-th! Keith, are you okay?! Answer us!" Wincing at the sudden volume, everything was starting to come back into focus. He stood on shaky legs, a hand braced on the wall, and sword in front of him. He snarled at the approaching Galra, vision swimming once more.

"'m fine," He grimaced at the blood bubbling in his throat. He swallowed it down, taking his arm off of the wall and activating his shield.

No shots came.

"Look at that," One of the three... no... Six? Galra mocked, lowering it's blaster. The others followed his it's lead, sheathing them. They... they didn't see him as a threat, did they? "He says he's fine, Kythox."

The Galra, who Keith assumed was Kythox, grinned maliciously. "Yes... Yes, I heard that. He doesn't look fine. Shall we help him with that?"

"Stop fooling around and cuff him, you _sorplatz_ ," The one who threw Keith growled, bayard still raised. He stopped a few feet away from Keith, blaster raised and activated.

Kythox rolled his eyes, then proceeded to pull out a pair of cuffs. The sentries stood behind them, unnervingly still. He stepped forward, which Keith mimicked, taking a step back. He nearly fell. Okay, so, maybe he wasn't fine.

Kythox got two steps closer, within arms reach, and he slashed at him with his bayard. It was slow and sluggish, and his form left him wide open to the other Galra, who Keith was now calling Sendak's opposite. Kythox dodged it expertly, a look of surprise overtaking his features. Sendak's opposite took advantage, digging the the tip of the blaster into Keith's side wound. Keith cried out, knees buckling as the sword fell from his hand. His shield flickered away, leaving him open and vulnerable. He fell in an ungraceful heap on the floor, blood dripping from several cuts.

He screwed his eyes shut, the lights becoming too bright. He knew the Galra were going to kill him, or capture him, but he couldn't find the strength to get up and fight. He'd put all of those civilians in danger, and now he couldn't fix it.

One of the Galra grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back, twisting them so he couldn't move them. He groaned weakly, struggling tiredly and weakly beneath it's grasp. Cuffs snapped in place around his wrists, squeezing too tightly. He grit his teeth, pulling at them, even if the only thing it caused was for them to dig into his skin. He needed to get up and fight- He needed to help the Aljuriann's-

He forced his eyes open when they hauled him to his feet, claws digging into his elbows. He stumbled when they forced him along, nearly falling. He would've fell if they weren't holding him. One of them huffed, and then his feet were dragging behind him, his head hung as he watched the blood drip from his body and make a path. He was vaguely aware that someone took his helmet, but all he was focused on was the blood. He wasn't aware that he had that much blood.

There was talking around him, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't understand it. It all blurred into a colorful paragraph, random words making new, randomer words. He was panting, even if it hurt. His cough dragged across his throat and brought blood up with it. He wasn't supposed to breathe blood...

It occurred to him that he shouldn't be losing so much blood, but...

The sound of gunfire startles him out of his thoughts, making him flinch and tense, despite how it pulls on his wounds. His eyes open sluggishly (when did he close them?), blinking a few times to get rid of the blurry stone thing beneath him. It becomes focused fast, and Keith gets a two second view of it before he's dropped face first onto a pink stone floor covered in his blood.

He looked up through half-lidded eyes, watching someone who was a blob of blue and white kneel over someone who was a blob of yellow and white, a blaster in it's hands and blue beams firing at the approaching purple figures. The yellow and white blob had a canon formed and was shooting yellow beams at anyone who was getting close to... to someone behind him, maybe?

The aliens they were protecting, the... the Jerusians? Keith can't remember, but they seem to be holding their own just fine.

He knows he shouldn't close his eyes; There's a good chance he'll never open them again if he does, but it's getting hard to keep them open... Maybe... maybe he can... can clos... close them for a second...

The next thing he knows the person in blue and white is talking to him softly, but it's too loud-

"...th, I'm gonna turn you around, okay?" Lance. Lance is the blob-

"...n...o....Lan...Lance, g-get aw...'way," There's a new, agonizing sting to his stomach. He isn't sure if it was there before, but it doesn't really matter. Lance's hands are touching his bicep. He whimpers in pain, curling away from Lance "...n...no...'nt'ouch..."

He watches Lance's blurry face wince through slit eyes. He's being flipped onto his back-

Keith screams.

Huh.

He didn't know he had that much energy left in h...

* * *

Seeing Hunk  _and_ Keith hurt is a nightmare for Lance.

Keith had stopped responding to them mid-sentence in the comms, and he had freaked out.

On the inside.

The toxin, as Shiro called it, was still affecting him. He could see and hear everything, and he hated being so mean to Keith. He knew the insecurities Keith had, and he exploited  _all of them_ , but he couldn't do a damn thing about it. He betrayed Keith's trust and he isn't sure if he can get it back.

It's even worse when the toxin force him to touch Hunk every God damn second. 

He and Keith... it's weird to think about. They love each other, but they  _also_ love Hunk. Lance knows what it means. Keith didn't. He'd had a panic attack about it one night, because he loved Lance and didn't want him to break up with him for loving more than one person romantically. Lance told him he liked Hunk that way too, then explained to him what being 'poly' was.

 That was two nights before the stupid bug bit him.

The toxin made him try to climb Hunk’s arm and wave around his gun when the Galra came in.

It made Hunk cover him with his own body.

It’s what made Hunk get shot.

”No!” Lance kneeled over Hunk, corning shot after shot at the Galra, fighting against the toxin infecting his brain. Instead of the initial annoyance he had with Keith, on the outside, being dragged into the room, two blaster wounds and blood dripping down his chin. His head was hung low, bangs covering most of his face, and all of the toxin got rid of the fear and worry for his boyfriend and _he couldn’t make himself move_.

They’d dropped him when Lance shot the Galra’s arm. 

Hunk was trying hard to stay awake, shooting at the Galra, who was apparently Sendak’s brother, that was trying to kill Keith.

”Allura! We need backup!” Lance yelled, hoping to any God out there that nothing was interfering with their comms right now. "Hunk and Keith are out of com-"

”I’ll be there in five dobashes, Lance,” Allura answered, rather darkly. He continued to shoot at the sentries, the toxin almost gone. He needed to help Keith and Hunk-

“Drop your weapon,” Sendak’s brother snarled, pulling Keith up by his neck. Keith whimpered, a noise Lance had never heard Keith make before, dangling limply in the air. Lance growled, hands tightening on his rifle. Hunk just groaned quietly, arms dropping to the ground.

”Put him down,” Lance growled back, getting to his feet. He raised his bayard, finger on the trigger.

”Drop” He repeated, raising a hidden knife to Keith’s stomach. “your weapon.”

Lance’s eyes widened, breath hitching.

No- no, no-

And like that, all of the toxin was gone. All of the fear and anxiety and worry and the guilt he felt about Keith over the week hit him full force, threatening to drown him. It's not that it hurt (it felt like the bug bit him again, actually), but there were just so many emotions-

A blood curling scream filled the air, just as Keith start to weakly thrash in Sendak's brother's (Lance is calling him Mr. Butt face, now) grip, eyes squeezed shut and tears dripping down his face, slowly. He didn't know if Keith was crying because of the pain, or things that have happened over the week, or- just anything, but Keith's crying, and he hates seeing that.

Especially when it's because of an idiotic Galra who shoved a knife into his stomach.

Keith was wheezing, limp in Mr. Butt Face's hold, desperately trying to claw his clawed hand off, while his other hand weakly grasped at the knife. Mr. Butt Face was laughing wickedly, but then Lance's finger was pulling the trigger-

Keith was dropped to the floor, landing on his stomach. He let out a breathless scream, the knife's tip protruding from his back.

Mr. Butt Face staggered backwards, flesh hand covering the wound that took up his entire neck. He fell to the floor, mouth open in a silent scream, blood dripping from his mouth.

He didn't move.

Good.

Lance hopes he stays that way.

He lowered his bayard, kneeling beside Hunk, who was a bit too pale for Lance's liking. He patted Hunk's cheek, stirring him from unconsciousness. The wound wasn't too bad- just a burn on his thigh, not bleeding, but enough to put him in a tremendous amount of pain. "Hey, Hunk?"

Hunk grunted something incoherent, looking at him through slit eyelids.

"I'm need to check on Keith. I can't carry you, so Allura will be here soon. Stay awake, okay?" Lance activated the comms on Hunk's helmet, turning his own volume to maximum so he could hear Hunk if he needed help. Hunk nodded, closing his eyes again. That's okay. The big guy needs rest, and he's not dying from blood loss, unlike-

He shot to his feet, barely taking one step before he reached Keith.

"Keith!" He yelled, rubbing his back in an attempt to wake him up. Keith groaned, body curling away from Lance. "Keith, hey, wake up, please-" Keith groaned again, eyelids fluttering. "Thank God. Okay, Keith, I'm gonna turn you around, okay?"

Keith let out a breath that probably should've sounded like a groan, but came out more of a whine. "...n...o....Lan...Lance, g-get aw...'way," Lance grimaces, because he deserves that completely and totally, grasping Keith's arm. Keith whimpers, a sound of pure pain, trying to move away from Lance but only succeeding in more injuries. "...n...no...'nt'ouch..." Lance jerked away immediately, raising his hand to his face with a wince. It was covered in blood. Keith's blood.

Looking down with a horrified expression, he could see the full extent of Keith's wounds. On the outside, at least. He had two blast injuries; One on his bicep, the one Lance  _grabbed_ , and another on his side. There was the obvious knife wound, and dirt markings along the backside of his armour. That couldn't be it, he had another side, he wasn't 2D-

"I'm so sorry," Lance whispered, rubbing a small, ( _hopefully_ ) soothing circle into Keith's neck.

He grabbed Keith as quick as possible, trying to avoid his wounds, and flipped him around. Keith screamed, something that would haunt him in his dreams, eyes falling shut. The scream quickly cuts off into a broken sob, then nothing else. Keith was unconscious.

The front looks worse.

Keith has a black eye, a bloody cut taking up most of his forehead. He's got a dark, big bruise forming on his jaw, accompanied by swelling. A thin cut is on the corner of his mouth, there's blood dripping from his chin, probably due to internal injuries, and a long, deep cut going from the tip of his eyebrow to the edge of his jaw. Half of his face is covered by a dark bruise, which is probably why he's having trouble opening his eyes. How in the hell did this happen?

From the looks of it, he's probably got a concussion, internal bleeding, broken ribs, and major trauma for the future. Lance knows how easily Keith can get traumatized in situations like these- When he gets out of the pod,  _when_ , he's going to have a hell of a time with sleeping, especially if his insomnia acts up as well.

Right now, the most pressing concern is  _the knife currently sticking out of Keith's stomach_. From how much it's already bleeding, it's probably hit a vital organ. He needs to take the knife out, but that could be the only thing keeping Keith from bleeding out completely, but he can't leave the knife inside of him, piercing his back.

He's distantly aware of the others in his ear, asking for someone to give them Keith and Hunk's status, but he's more concerned with how much Keith is bleeding right now. Besides, he already told Allura he needed backup. There's a small pool of blood forming beneath Keith, which is growing at an alarming rate. He needs that knife out so he can move Keith, and he needs it out  _now_.

He grabs the handle with shaking hands, very few, contained tears dripping off of his chin and mixing into the pool of blood. "I'm sorry," He knows Keith can't hear it, but  _he_ needs the reassurance. He pulls the knife out like a bandage- Fast and clean. Keith doesn't react, save for a small twitch in his eyebrow, which is another alarming thing. He gathers Keith into his arms, stands up, and leaves the room.

He's not that surprised to find Hunk and Allura walk-limping down the hallway, Keith's bayard and helmet clipped to her belt, a few hundred feet away. He was tending to Keith for a while, and Allura's really,  _really_ strong.

Allura must notice his fast footsteps, because she turns her head, surprise etched onto her face. "Lance, is-?"

"Yeah, it's me," Lance finishes for her, somehow beating her speed and running ahead of her, dead set on the course to the Red Lion. Even though he's not her Paladin, he can feel her worry and protection for Keith in his head, albeit faint. "Keith is seriously hurt, Coran, he needs a pod."

"Hunk as well!" Allura calls, just before Lance reaches Red in record time.

When Lance gets in the Lion, he knows he's lost whatever trust they had before, when Lance wasn't affected by the bug. Red knows it wasn't him, but can't forgive him because of what he did to Keith. Lance can't blame her. She opens up, only because Keith is in danger, and takes off without prompt.

He can deal with apologizing later. 

Right now, Keith needs a pod.

* * *

Keith wakes up slowly, like he's emerging from a bowl of thick syrup. It's cold, and unconsciousness is threatening to take him once more, but it doesn't.

Then he realizes he can't breathe.

His eyes snap open, and he tries to suck in a breath, but he can't- he  _can't breathe._ He tries to move his arms to pound against the door, to open his mouth to scream, but he can't move his limbs-

And then he's falling into open air, able to breathe and move his limbs. He's still cold, which isn't bad (because he lived in the desert for a year. The cold is welcomed), but he's about to fall face first into the ground which is very bad-

He falls into something warm and very much alive, face smooshed into their chest. Their arm moves to hold him up by his waist, while the other cups the back of his neck tenderly. Keith places his palms on their chest- Not that he's a pervert, but he knows it's a 'he' now, trying to push himself away so he can stand on his own and figure out _who the fuck_ is holding him. Right now, his senses are off, so he can't figure out who it is by feeling them, and all he can see is stars because his eyes are squeezed shut tightly against the fabric of their shirt. He takes a deep breath, inhaling the person's scent in the process-

They smell like  _home_.

Keith gasps, trying even harder to shove away from Lance, even if he knows it's all futile. If Lance doesn't want to let go, he won't, and he's stronger than Keith- where the fuck is everyone-

"Keith," He says it softly, allowing Keith to pull away slightly. He's looking at a deep blue eyes he's all too familiar with, but they  _aren't familiar at all_. "Keith, it's okay-"

"It's not!" Keith somehow gets out of Lance's hold, slamming into the pod behind him. His back is in agony, and he doesn't know why. He gasps, gritting his teeth against the pain. Why does it hurt so much? 

Lance is taking a step forward, palms facing towards him non-threateningly. Either way, Keith gasps harshly, trying to back up more, but the pod only digs into his already aching back. The pain is gone now, replaced with a dull ache from hitting the pod. He knows why he was in the pod, now, and he faintly remembers being impaled with a knife. Maybe it's a residual pain from being impaled. He knows that it's going to give him nightmares "Get away! Hunk- Shiro!"

"Keith- Keith, please!" Lance cries, caution gone completely. He's in front of Keith in an instant, warm hands cupping his face. He's starting to hyperventilate, and he knows that, but Lance  _is too close and he's going to get hurt-_

"P-please!" He sobs, tearing his face away from Lance. "Help!" He doesn't care how pathetic and useless he sounds, but he can't deal with it any longer-

"Keith, hey, it's okay," It's much softer now, and the hands that come up to his cheeks are soft and  _familiar_ , like it was before the bug's bite- "It's me. It's Lance," The pads of his thumbs are wiping away the tears that have started to spill over. He searches Lance's face for some crack in the lie- But there's nothing, just vulnerability and guilt and worry and  _safety_ _._ "It's Lance."

He gives in, then, throwing himself at Lance, uncaring of the pitiful sobs that are escaping his mouth, and the tears that are trailing down his face. He wraps his arms around Lance's waist, burying his face into Lance. Lance snakes his arms around Keith's back, rubbing circles and up and down because he knows Keith needs this. He places a kiss to Keith's bare neck, but Keith doesn't feel it- He can't- All he can feel is  _Lance_ -

"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry, Keith, I could- I was there the entire time, I just couldn't stop it, I'm sorry," Lance, he realizes, is crying as well, but he's more composed. They sink to the floor, Keith in Lance's lap and holding him like he'll disappear,  _again_ , babbling like a baby. Lance's voice is louder than his, and not in between ugly sobs " _I'm so sorry_."

"'s okay," Keith lies, because no, it's not okay. But it wasn't Lance. He can't be mad at Lance.

"No- Keith, you don't get it," Lance pulls away, leaning back so he can look Keith in his eyes. His eyes are too blurry to make out Lance's actual form, he's just a blur of brown and green, but he doesn't care becaus this is _Lance_ \- “All of it. Every bruise I put on you, every insult I gave you- I did all of that.”

Keith blanched, jaw slack. He- he couldn’t have-

“Wait- no!” Lance backtracked quickly, squeezing Keith. “No- I mean, it was the toxin, but I was there. I couldn’t stop myself from clinging to Hunk, or-or hurting you. I’m sorry- I know those things you told me- I shouldn’t- I’m sorry, and I love you so much,” Lance finishes, his eyes brimming with tears. Keith stares as he rubs them away, his own tears still falling, slower.

”L-Lance, I-“ He choked down a sob, moving back to Lance’s neck. “I-“ He’s never been good with words. When they got together, Lance had said it every minute of every day, but Keith hardly said it back. Lance understood that he wasn’t ready to say it like he did, he was slower with him when he asked, and he knew he loved Lance, but- “I know it wasn’t you,” he chickens out like a coward, ashamed to be hugging Lance. He feels Lance deflate beneath him, only slightly, before he’s as relaxed as he was before. He buried his nose into Keith’s hair, and God, Keith missed this. “Those things- they didn’t bother me-“

”That’s bullshit!” Lance hissed, tightening his hold on Keith. “I- I made you cry, Keith. Several times. I’ve only ever seen you cry, like, six times, baby,” Pet names- “I started nearly three of your panic attacks in the span of two days- Keith? What’s wrong?” Keith is tending beneath him, arms loosening around his waist.

”I- baby,” He repeated, not getting enough air.

”Wh- Oh, oh my God, I’m sorry-“ Lance held him even tighter, “I know- I used them in a different manner- “I love you so much- Please don’t think-“

”It-“ Keith forced himself to take a deep breath, pulling away from Lance and rubbing his eyes. It’s not fine, and they both know that. “I’m n-not ready.”

”That- that’s fine, it’s okay,” Lance  wiped away the tears that fell, and pulled him close one last time before letting go. “We’ll take it slower than before.”

”I-“ Keith shakes his head against Lance, tears drying. “I don’t want that. I- I want the pet names, but-“

”It scares you?” Lance offers, breath warm on his face.

Keith nods. "Y-yeah. I know I shouldn't be scared-"

"No," Lance says harshly, causing Keith to flinch away. This was all fake- "You're allowed to be scared," he says, much softer. Keith relaxes, but only a little. "I- I did some nasty stuff, Keith. I tried to  _kill_ you."

Keith shudders, the memory too fresh in his brain.  "Okay."

"Now, c'mon," Lance says, kissing the tip of Keith's nose. Keith giggles,  _giggles_ ( _Oh_ _God, what has Lance done to him_ ), leaning into it before Lance pulls away, smiling brightly. "You're freezing, and the others need to see you. They promised they'd give us some alone time. Apparently, everyone knew we were dating."

Keith hums, wrapping his arm around Lance's neck and resting his head on Lance's shoulder. "I missed you," he sighed, closing his eyes. "I love you, too."

"I love you more," Lance says with a grin, hooking his arms around Keith's knees-

Keith freezes, eyes opening. His breath had gone fast again-

"What is it?" Lance removes his arm, eyes full of worry. "What'd I do?"

"Nothing- nothing. It's fine," Keith lies. It reminded him of the training deck, but he's not going to tell Lance that, and he knows Lance won't make him.

"I'm gonna... carry," Lance slowly repeats his previous movements, sliding an arm across Keith's shoulders as well. "You," He lifts Keith into the air like he weighs nothing, which, is entirely possible. Keith hadn't eaten since the perogies Coran had given him. He didn't even know Alteans knew what perogies were.

He closes his eyes again, content in Lance's arms.

"Okay, so," Lance starts talking, disturbing Keith's peace. Not that he minds. "You need to eat, you're a lot lighter than you were before."

Keith nods against Lance's neck. "I was a little terrified," Keith admits, cheeks pink.

"I know," Lance says quietly, bouncing Keith a little. "I'm sorry. I've never seen you that scared."

Keith doesn't respond. He sniffles and ducks his head, taking in all the warmth he can get. He's freezing,  _again_. Why is he getting so cold lately?

"Hey, so," Lance starts up again, prompting Keith to open his eyes. "There's still some of Hunk's perogies leftover, and I know you love those-"

"Wait-" The corner of Keith's mouth quirks up. "Hunk made those?"

Lance nods.

"Wow- those take like, hours to make."

"Yup," Lance says with a grin, popping the  _p_. "Okay, please stop smiling, it's too cute-"

"What?" Keith asks, eyebrows drawn together. He stops smiling, not purposely, and his mouth reverts to a line.

"You had a cut going across the corner of your mouth," Lance is grinning still, but his eyes are dark. "It wasn't even that deep, but it scarred. Somehow the other two  _deep_ cuts didn't scar. The scar, though, it makes your smile even wider somehow."

"What cuts?" Keith ignores the last part, cheeks going pink.

"Oh, um," Lance's grin falters, his eyes downcast. "There, um."

Keith frowns. "What were my injuries, Lance?"

Lance's face hardens, jaw set. "You... Sendak's brother, he..." Lance took a deep breath, shifting Keith a little higher. Sendak had a brother? "Four broken ribs, one fractured, a major concussion, half of your face was bruised, a cut going down the side of your face, that cutesy little cut right there," Lance wiggled his eyebrows, bending down so he could poke it with his tongue. Keith laughed shortly, smiling into Lance's neck. "The rest you probably know," he did. Two shot wounds, and a knife through his stomach. They- well, Lance walks into the dining room, Keith in his arms. He can hear talking, so he assumes the rest of the team is there, but he's too la- _tired_  to open his eyes.

"Keith!"

"Oh my God, you're alive!"

"Keith, holy shit, don't you ever fucking do that again."

Keith huffs, opening his eyes when Lance nudges him. He sets him down into his chair, which is beside Pidge's, then sits in his own. He rests his chin in his hands, watching PIdge as she pulls her chair until it's right beside Keith's, then curls into a ball with her head in his lap. He smiles warmly, rubbing her arm soothingly. "I hate you," she grumbles, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I know you do," Keith responds back, feeling arms wrap around his neck from behind-

Keith flinches.

"Sorry- sorry," Hunk apologizes, hands going back. "I wanted to hug you, but-"

"'s fine," Keith assures him, holding out his arm in a gesture of a hug. Hunk smiles, then repeats what he did and rests his nose in Keith's hair. Keith ignores the intimate gesture and takes Lance’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

“I’m glad you are alright, Keith,” Allura smiled towards him, spork resting in her hand, a plate of goo in front of her. 

“Glad to have you back, number four!” Coran said cheerfully, leaning against Allura’s chair.

”Thanks,” Keith muttered quietly, cheeks turning pink. Lance snorted and squeezed his hand, earning a squeeze back. Hunk coughed abruptly, taking his hands off of Keith and backing away. Keith looked at him curiously, fingers twirling the ends of Pidge’s hair.

”Oh- Right,” Lance clapped his hands together and stood up, kissing Keith’s forehead. “Food. Keith needs food.”

”Right! C’mon,” Hunk waved him along, already disappearing into the kitchen.

“Just a sec,” Lance called cheerfully, bending down to Keith’s level.

”Yeah?”

He placed a hand beside Keith’s ear and leaned closer. “We’re telling him today, okay?” He whispered, turning Keith’s cheeks pink. He nodded.

Lance grinned at Pidge’s disgusted noise and skipped off.

”Keep your sex life private,” Pidge grumbled, getting up and blinking tiredly. “I’m going to bed,” She grabbed Keith by the collar of his healing suit, pulling his face to hers. His breath hitched and he tensed, all too reminded of- “You. Don’t do some stupid shit that gets you killed while I’m gone.”

Keith nods tersely, eager to be let go of-

“Good,” she let go and grabbed her computer, which was on the table, and left the room.

”I’m glad you’re okay,” Shiro said warmly, hands clasped on the table. “But, please, don’t do that again. You scared the shit out of me, Keith.”

”Sorry,” he muttered sheepishly, looking down at his hands. “What does Pidge mean? She said I died... but, I’m here?”

“You- you died, Keith,” Shiro looked away, hands tightening around themselves. “Your heart stopped on the way back to the Castle.”

”Oh,” Keith whispered, standing from his chair. “How long was I in the pod for?”

”Four quintant,” Coran answered solemnly, a frown tugging at his normally upturned mouth.

Keith blanched, turned around, and ran into the kitchen.

* * *

 Kissing was not apart of Lance's plan.

He had  _planned_ to help Hunk warm up some perogies for Keith, then maybe, _possibly_ make him a milkshake because they just figured out that,  _yes_ , they could milk Kaltenecker, and Keith loves Lance's milkshakes, but no one else's. He let Hunk get out the perogies and prepare them, like the good friend he was, and grabbed the ingredients for the milkshakes Keith loved so much. There was a beep as Hunk closed the oven door, indicating that it had started.

"So," Hunk leaned against the counter, watching Lance put the ingredients in the blender. Maybe Keith liked his because they were made with love... or extra ice cream.

"So," Lance parroted, placing the cap on the blender. He turned to face Hunk, hand braced on the counter.

"I... I wanted to tell you something," Hunk rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks turning pink as he stepped closer. Lance raised an eyebrow, standing up straight. "And it couldn't really wait any longer, especially after the whole lug bove ordeal-"

"Love bug," Lance corrected, a teasing smile on his face.

Hunk rolled his eyes, "Yes, love bug. Anyways, I just..." He took a deep breath, then spat it out. "I-really-like-you-but-I-know-you're-dating-Keith-so-it's-okay-that-you-don't-"

"Hunk," Lance faced his palms outward, motioning for him to slow down and breathe. Hunk nodded taking a deep, quick breath. “Slow down, repeat yourself.”

Hunk’s face was the colour of Red’s armour. “I like you. Like, romantic like. Love. I guess. I know you’re dating Keith, which is fine, I just needed to tell you-“

Lance’s blush was steadily increasing, matching Hunk’s at a fast rate. He refused to smile. “I- okay. But- one question.”

”Shoot.”

”Do you love Keith too?” He wouldn’t say anything unless he was certain Hunk likes them both-

“Uh,” Hunk coughed, rubbing his arm. “Yeah.”

Lance broke out into a big grin, throwing himself at Hunk. Hunk yelped, stumbling backwards as he caught Lance. “Good. That- Great. That’s great.”

”So, um...”

“We love you too,” Lance looked up from his shoulder, grinning like a mad man. “Keith- he’s not gonna say it often, it freaks him out to say he ‘loves’ someone; He’s only said to to me like, four times now, I think, but yeah- We love you too.”

Hunk’s eyes widened, breaking out into a wide grin. “Can I-?”

Lance shut him up by pressing his lips against Hunk’s. The butterflies in his stomach returned full force, dancing in circles and flapping their wings like they hadn’t been out in ages-

Someone gasped behind them, followed by a stumbled step.

Lance broke away, eyes wide and blown, Hunk the same, but with a dopey smile on his face.

Keith was the one who gasped, stumbling backwards to the door. His eyes were wide and he had a sad, scared look in his eyes. Lance blanched, stepping away. This must look like-

“No-“ Keith’s voice was small and scared, hurting Lance’s heart. He has royally fucked up.

”Hey, Keith!” Hunk smiles at him brightly, taking a step forwards. “I have to tell you something-!”

”It... you weren’t...” It came out in an exhale as his back hit the door. His hands fumbled around, looking for the pad- “It was true-“

”Keith, let me explain-“ Lance tried, exiting the counter-

“No! No, no-“ His hand finally hit the pad as he stared at them with tears in his eyes. “I knew it- I knew it was true-“ The door opened and Keith stumbled out, eyes wide with tears and betrayal.

Great.

More nightmare fuel.

“Damn it,” Lance hissed, dropping his face into his hands. “He’s gonna train himself to death-“

”What- what just happened?” Hunk asked, voice small. 

“He- I told him no one could ever love him,” Lance said, then pushed himself off of the counter. “I- I need to go-“

Lance left the room, followed by Hunk, oven and blender forgotten.

* * *

When Lance finally got to the training room, where he figured Keith would be, he found the door locked.

Lance groaned, dropping his head against the door. "Keith!" He couldn't unlock the door; He wasn't  _that_ smart, and he'd gotten Hunk to check Red, the observation deck, and their room, because he'd probably want to see Hunk more. He thought this would be the last place Keith would be. Ever since they started dating, Lance had stopped Keith from going to the training deck to resolve his issues- It only resolved in him getting bruises that Lance had to kiss away. "Keith, open the door!"

He heard metal hit metal, then a pained grunt, followed by a scream. That could not be good.

Slamming his fists onto the door, he tried to summon his bayard. He wasn't even sure if it would work if he were out of his armour-

The blue bayard appeared in his hand, already materialized, and he grinned. He shot at the panel, and the doors slid open automatically.

"End training sequence!" Lance yelled, louder than Keith's soft 'level 9'. He ran into the room, scanning Keith for any potential  _fatal_ injuries. He was panting, bayard several feet behind him, with tear tracks trailing down his face, accompanied by red eyes. He was holding his left wrist to his chest awkwardly, and was favouring his right leg. There was a massive bruise covering his entire left forearm, which probably explained why he was holding his left wrist. The knees of his jeans were torn, accompanied by scrapes on his knees. There was a dark bruise on his jaw, and he had a black eye, but Lance couldn't see any blood...

"What are you doing here?" Keith asked, breathless, as he shifted face Lance. There was hurt visible in his eyes, making Lance's heart break all over again. "I saw what happened between you two-"

"Keith, I still love you," Lance assured him, an arms length away from Keith. Keith stilled, watching Lance with distrustful eyes. "Hunk had confessed at least a second before you came in, and-"

"To you," Keith muttered, eyes downcast.

Lance took the last step, gently grabbing Keith's healed bicep. He ignored the pale scar that was there, revealed by Keith's normal black shirt. "I made sure he like- loved you too, Keith. He knows what being poly is, and," Keith's eyes lit up like a child's would on Christmas morning. Lance grinned, his boyfriend was so  _cute_. "and- yeah. He likes us both. I told him that we did too, and, well, that happened."

"Oh," Keith visibly relaxed, finally,  _finally_ , leaning into Lance's touch. He sagged against Lance's chest, still holding his wrist. He could feel the tremble of Keith's shoulders through their shirt and let go of Keith's arm, only so he could hug him. "You... you still love me, right?" Keith asked cautiously, looking up to Lance with hopeful eyes.

"Baby," Lance breathed, ducking his head down. He placed his lips against Keith's in a firm kiss, cupping the back of his neck. "Don't you ever doubt it," he pressed a kiss to the tip of Keith's nose, the corners of his upturned mouth, and his forehead. " _Dios_ , that scar makes you look adorable." 

Keith just laughs, burrowing into Lance's shirt.

"So, you wanna go see Hunk, or eat and shit then see Hunk?" Lance asks, tightening his hold on Keith. He's not ready to let go.

"Can... Can I just stay with you tonight? And we can talk t-to Hunk tomorrow?" Keith looks up from Lance's chest, barely contained misery in his eyes. That bug bite shit must've killed him. "If that's okay?"

"Of course it's okay," Lance assures him, kissing the top of his head gently. Over the course of being in space and forming Voltron for however long, he had grown a few more inches, giving him more teasing material over Keith. "If I'm being honest, I wanted some alone time too."

Keith's face morphs from complete and utter happiness to depression. "Oh, I- I'll leave you-"

Lance pulls Keith closer when he tries to escape the embrace. "I meant with _you,_ you adorable little dumbass."

Keith smiled, a small little thing that shouldn't have made Lance's heart burst, but it did.

"Let's go get you some food."

Keith nodded against Lance. "I don't- I fucked up my ankle."

Lance shrugged, letting go of Keith. "I'll carry you, and we'll scan it later."

"'kay," Keith mumbled, accepting Lance's offered piggy back.

"I love you."

"I love you too, baby. Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we're there."

He was pleased when he felt Keith nod off against him, accompanied by quiet, soft snores that he would never get tired of.

He was so _damn cute_.

* * *

 Keith stayed asleep their entire trip, which was actually surprising.

During the night, Keith woke up to the smallest of sounds. He was an incredibly light sleeper, making it hard for Lance to know if he woke up from a nightmare or not. Lance slept pretty decently, but if Keith didn't do something Lance would notice while he was having a nightmare, he wouldn't wake up. Most of the time, he would hear the change in Keith's breathing, or the sweat gathering beneath him- Okay, maybe Lance was a light sleeper too. You get like that after who knows long of fighting  _evil_ _aliens_.

Thankfully, when they got to the kitchen, no one was there. There was a note on the oven, in Hunk's handwriting, that read:  _I didn't find him, so I'm guessing you found him. I'll give you guys some alone time, I'm ready to talk when you are. The perogies are finished, just staying warm in the oven -xoxo, Hunk._

Lance really loves the guy.

He sets Keith down on the counter, keeping a hand under Keith's head until his hand is touching the counter. He pulls his hand away, smiling warmly at his boyfriend, who stayed asleep. He's not going to wake Keith up.

He pulls the perogies out of the oven, sets them on the counter, and continues the milkshake he started earlier, making sure to put extra chocolate for him. It's only after her gets it into the cups that he realizes he can't carry the food  _and_ carry Keith.

He can't leave it here, because someone might take it, but he doesn't want Keith to wake up alone...

An idea hitting him, he flips over the note Hunk made, grabs a pen, and scribbles down a note for Keith.

He balances the drinks and food in his hands, and all but runs to their room.

* * *

He isn't really sure how he manages it, but he gets to their room in less than four minutes.

Their new room is much bigger; They have a king sized bed, with lots of thick blankets folded and piled at the end because Keith gets cold at night, and sometimes, Lance's body heat isn't enough, with a mix of blue and red pillows. Unlike their old bed, it hovers off of the ground by a few inches, sometimes making it hard for Keith to get on, which is adorable, and is in the center of the room, against the back wall. They have a type of tv- It's more of a projection-elmo thing like they have at schools, but the screen is coming from nothing. The bed has a table on one side, stuck in the frame, but can be pulled out by it's handle. There's a desk in one corner, complete with two hover chairs, and a huge, walk in closet, filled with a mix of Keith's clothes and Lance's clothes. After the first week, they gave up and stopped organizing their clothes, because it was obvious who's was who's. Normally, Keith ended up in Lance's shirt, with one of Lance's sweaters or his jacket (the last time they visited Earth, they brought a lot of clothes, because living with one set was not normal, and gross), and his own pair of pants. Lance usually ended up in his own clothes, unless Keith was an ass and threw his own shirt at Lance. Their bathroom was  _huge_. They have an actual tub now- not just some shower head with a rim to keep the water in and a curtain rod  _without curtains_. They have a sink  _with_ a counter, organized with Keith's stuff on one side and Lance's on the other. They have a shelf filled with Lance's skin care products (such as razors, because Lance doesn't have the luxury of hairless legs,  _Keith_ , and facial masks and a cucumber that Altean's seemed to have as well), an extra hairbrush and comb, because they managed to break one once by throwing it, and shaving cream, because, once again, Lance doesn't have the luxury of being hairless. The walls are mostly bare, save for one, which is filled with photos from Earth, and ones they've taken up in space.

Lance pulls the table down and sets the plates and drinks on it, then runs back out of the room.

He blinks as he leaves, and ends up body slamming into Keith, sending them both sprawling to the floor. Keith lets out a pained yelp as Lance tries to catch Keith to lessen the blow, to no avail.

Keith hits the ground first, a whimper of pain escaping his lips. Lance tries not to land on him, bracing his hands on either side of Keith's head. He manages to avoid hitting Keith, but it sends a painful flare up his arms. Keith’s eyes are squeezed shut, mouth in a tight line. 

“You okay?” Lance asks, pushing back so he can sit on his knees.

Keith starts to nod, but stops as he starts to sit up. He winces, pulling his bruised arm into his hand and bringing it to his chest. “I- I landed on my wrist.”

”Can I see it?” He helps Keith sit up and lean against the wall, gently touching his knee.

Keith nods, releasing his hold and letting Lance take it into his hands.

Lance shifts closer, leaning his head down so he can get a better look at it. His forearm is a big, black, bruise. His wrist is a darker black with a bit of swelling. “I’m going to touch it. Tell me if it hurts, okay?”

Keith nods.

He pokes around the swelling, watching Keith’s face for a reaction. He winces once, but there are no other reactions. He goes to the spot that made him wince, and touches closer to the swelling. He watches Keith bite his lip, hard enough to draw blood. He stays in that direction, chewing on his bottom lip, and poking where he thinks the center is-

Keith let’s out a scream, bringing up his free hand to block it.

”Here?” He gestures to where he poked, letting go of Keith’s wrist.

He nods, dropping his hand.

”It’s probably a sprain, or something,” Lance tells him, getting to his feet. He holds out his hand for Keith, which Keith takes gratefully. He hauls him to his feet, letting Keith stumble onto him when he lands on his bad ankle. 

He helps Keith into the room and onto the bed, because he’s so short it’s adorable, then goes into the closet. He pulls out a pair of black sweatpants and a blue sweatshirt, then grabs a pair of red pyjama pants and leaves the closet. He gives Keith the pants and sweater, then takes off his own clothes and puts on the pants. By the time he finishes, Keith has his pants put on, but is struggling to take off his shirt. He can see tears gathering in his eyes, but he doesn't know why-

"Hey, here," Lance says quietly, kneeling on the bed beside him. "Let me-"

"No!" Keith snaps, flinching away from Lance. Lance ignores the sting of hurt that comes up with it; he knows what he did, and he knows Keith needs more time. "Sorry, but no. I- I have to do this."

"Baby," Keith flinches slightly, while Lance mentally slaps himself. "Sorry- I'll try to stop," Keith shakes his head. "Okay- I won't. You're clearly having a hard time taking off your shirt. It's fine, let me help you-"

"No," Keith says, softer this time, scooting closer to Lance. "If- if I can't even take off my own shirt, what good am I to this team?" It's said quieter, probably not meant for Lance's ears, but he hears it, and he  _is not_ _happy_.

Who made him believe- "I'm sorry," Lance's voice cracks half way through, eyes brimming with tears.  _He_ made Keith believe he was useless.  _He_ made Keith think he was stupid.  _He_ made Keith believe no one loves him.  _He's_ the one who grabbed all of the insecurities Keith had admitted to him thinking he was in a safe spot, and threw them back at his face. "I'm so sorry," Lance says, pulling Keith into a tight hug. He's relieved when Keith doesn't flinch, instead leaning into it and burying his face into Lance's chest, but he squashes down the feeling. He doesn't deserve Keith's love. "You're amazing, baby. You're- you pilot the most temperamental Lion, you're fucking gorgeous, you have these cute little quirks that make me die a little every time you do them, you've saved me more times than I can count," Well, he can count them, but only because he looked so hot and badass when he saved him. One time, they were on a mission to find supplies and make friends with the natives of the planet, when, boom, out of no where a whole army of Galra show up. They don't have any armour or weapons, and the natives have turned against them, too. Keith had managed to take out at least a dozen Galra and four natives with his bare hands, saving Lance's ass four times, because unlike Keith, he's not good at hand to hand combat. They had ended up captured anyways, even with Keith's valiant efforts to keep them both safe. Just after they  _finally_ brought Keith down, they knocked him with the butt of their rifle and he was unconscious. He'd woken up inside of a cell, eyes forced open to watch Keith be electrocuted. He was given a few breaks where they'd ask them questions, and then they'd start it up again. It went on for a while, but then the team came, Pidge, to be exact, and cut off the power to the weird ass chair. She couldn't carry Keith, and Hunk was busy, so Lance got him out of there, nearly getting himself killed three times. Keith had always been there to say 'your left' or 'duck'. That's just one of the  _many, many_ times Keith had saved him. "and for Christ's sake, you're the best person I know, Keith. Ignore what I said when I was high on some random bug's toxin, that we still don't know the name of, other than 'love bug'. I wasn't there, it wasn't me,"  _It was_ "and I love you, Keith. I love you so much it hurts, and it breaks my heart when you think you're useless, because you're anything  _but_.

"It's okay to ask for help, Keith. It doesn't make you useless," Lance finishes, pulling away from Keith. Keith stops him by folding himself so he can fit in Lance's lap, hands twisted into his shirt's fabric. "Do you... need help?" He asks it slowly, careful to make his voice sound soft and kind. If it sounded any different, Keith might think he was mocking him, but he was definitely not. Keith was too stubborn for his own good.

Keith nods reluctantly, letting go of Lance's shirt and leaning away. Keith doesn't meet his eyes as he grabs the hem of Keith's shirt and lifts it up, just inspects his wrist. "Lift up your arms, babe," Keith does so, cheeks burning, as he lets Lance pull the shirt over his head. Lance will never be tired of seeing Keith's bare chest. He's got a six pack,  _a fucking six pack_ , littered with small, cute scars that Lance kisses every night. He's got another few to add to the collection- the two gun shots. Throwing the shirt onto the ground, he leans down and trails the one on his side with kisses. Keith lets out a soft noise, burying his face into the pillow behind Lance. He flips them around with ease, so Keith is beneath him, giving him easier access to, well, everywhere. He kisses up Keith's chest, relishing in his delighted moan, and buries his hands beneath Keith's back. He presses his palms to his cold shoulder blades and digs in, massaging it the best he can in their position. "I love you," he whispers, breath hot against his skin. "Which makes me not sorry for what I'm about to do."

"What a-?" Lance pulls his hands from Keith's back and digs his fingers in between Keith's ribs, cutting him off mid-sentence. Keith screams, dissolving into laughter and halfhearted attempts to push Lance away. "S-stop! Lance!"

Lance laughs with him, fingers tracing lightly over his stomach, his ribs, his- his  _armpits_. That hairless heathen.

Keith tenses beneath him, eyes going wide. He's still laughing, but it looks like he's about to start crying. "L-Lance, stop- stop-" Worried, Lance removes his hands from Keith and sits up, knees on either side of Keith's hips. Keith lets out a breathy sob, bringing up a hand to wipe away tears that won't stop falling. "I-I'm so-"

"Don't," Lance hissed, getting off of Keith. He grabs the sweater and pulls it over Keith's head gently, despite his anger. "Don't you dare. You have nothing to apologize for. You hear me?  _Nothing_."

Keith sniffles, burying himself in the overly sized sweater. Lance bought that sweater with the size of XL, because it was a cold fall and he liked to swim in his clothing back then. Now that Keith wears it, it goes down to his mid thigh, and the arms go  _way_ past his fingers. "Okay," Keith says, but Lance knows he doesn't believe it.

Lance sighs, leaning back onto the bed. He spreads out his limbs like a starfish. Keith laid down, curling into Lance's side with his head on Lance's chest. Lance hesitantly wraps an arm around Keith's shoulders, using the other to grab the plate of food and put it on his stomach, within easy reach for both of them. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Hesitantly, Keith nodded, a slight lift of his head, his hair tickling Lance's chest. "Mulan?"

Keith nodded again, fingers reaching for one of the perogies.

Lance grabbed the holographic remote and turned on the movie options. A little while after they got here, Pidge had downloaded all of the movies she had on her computer onto the Castle's archives. She'd made it so opening Mulan would be one of the buttons on their remote.

"I'm sorry, baby," Lance muttered, kissing the top of Keith's head.

"'kay."

* * *

Keith fell asleep twenty minutes in, clinging to Lance as if he’d disappear if he let him go.

Lance let out a breathy laugh at his cuteness, put the plate on the table and curled around Keith. He didn’t want to move Keith to grab a blanket, so he hoped his body heat would be sufficient enough.

He fell asleep to Mulan singing Reflection.

* * *

He wasn't sure what time it was when he  _did_ wake up.

All he knew was that Keith was breathing harshly, tears running down his face, and on top of him. Lance had gotten into Keith's sweater during the night, and he still doesn't know how.

This has happened before. 

"Keith?" He says softly, shaking his shoulder. Keith's breath hitches, but he doesn't wake up. "Keith, hey, wake up. It's just a dream-" Keith screams, eye snapping open. His purple, hazy eyes are staring into Lance's blue ones, filled with tears. He tries to sit up, but can't-

"Le-let me up- I want- Let me up- Lance-" He's starting to hyperventilate, struggling to get out of his sweater. Lance scratches behind Keith's ears soothingly, a place he learned Keith loved to be touched but refused to admit. Keith relaxed slightly, but still tried to get out of the sweater. "L-"

"Hey, hey," Lance says softly, resting his other hand on Keith's back. "It's okay- I've got you, you're perfectly fine-"

"I can't- no- Let me up-" 

"Okay," Lance interrupts him, sliding his arm through the sleeves. He grabs the hem of the sweater and pulls it over Keith and himself. "You just have to give me a few more seconds-"

"I don't-" Keith throws a hand over his mouth, jerking in Lance's grasp. He looks pale, now that Lance thinks about it. " _Lemme out_ ," It's muffled by the hand, and Keith jerks again, placing one hand on Lance's chest and pushing himself up. 

Lance pulls the sweater over Keith's head, letting it fall to his chest as Keith bolts from the bed and into the bathroom. Lance sucks in a large gulp of air as he gets up, because wow, Keith is pretty strong. He gets to shaky feet, off of the way-too-high bed, and follows Keith's footsteps. He can hear Keith retching through the open door, but he it doesn't totally prepare him. He's only ever seen Keith sick or puke twice, and it's never pretty. Well- Keith is always pretty, but seeing him in pain like that?  _Not pretty_.

Keith is kneeling over the toilet, arms wrapped around his stomach, slumped over so he can reach it. He's shirtless, which doesn't surprise Lance, because he's the one with the blue sweatshirt on. Keith is shivering, sobs mixed in with the horrid retching noises, but his back is glistening with sweat. Lance walks towards him, kneeling behind him and taking the sweater off. He drapes it over Keith's shoulders, pulling his hair back with an elastic that Keith forgot to pick up. He wraps an arm around Keith's chest to make sure he doesn't fall, kissing the back of his neck lightly.

Soon enough, the vomit turns into nasty, painful dry-heaves, then turn into nothing as Keith sags against him, eyes half lidded. The sweater slides down his shoulders, a crumpled heap in Lance's lap, squished between his thighs and Keith's back.

"L...Lance," Keith whispers, voice hoarse. He lightly drags his fingers down Lance's cheek as Lance holds him close. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby," Lance whispers back, kissing the tip of Keith's ear. His heart bursts when he sees Keith smile, closing his eyes. "Let's get you back to bed, okay?"

Keith nods.

* * *

When Lance wakes up, he's met with half closed, violet eyes, staring into his. There's cold fingers tracing his jaw, a smile pulling at his lips. Lance's arms are still wrapped around Keith; He doesn't take them off. He closes his eyes and leans into the touch.

"Hey," Keith says softly, leaning his head on Lance's shoulder. "Love you."

"Love y'too," Lance mumbles, tightening his hold on Keith. 

He falls asleep to Keith sighing happily.

* * *

He's well aware of the wary gazes he gets when he walks into the dining room, arm around Keith's waist. He ignores them.

Keith doesn't.

"He's fine," Keith snaps, sitting down beside Lance. Lance brushes their hands beneath the table, taking Keith's in his. "He's not going to suddenly snap my neck," He's glaring at Shiro, who's staring down at his food. "He's fine."

Lance hardly notices the absence of Hunk's presence.

* * *

They go looking for Hunk an hour later.

Well- not necessarily looking for him, so much as accidentally bumping into him when training.

Lance knows about all of Keith's restless energy, so he trains with Keith, instead of letting Keith jump levels so he starts with level twenty, and ends with a few broken bones.

He doesn't notice Hunk; He's too busy trying not to hurt Keith, but to win at the same time. Keith's movements are slow and sluggish, as if he's sleep deprived, which, he is. Lance has him pinned against the wall in minutes, breathing hard and an arm against his throat, the other keeping his wrist to the wall.

Keith closes his eyes, revealing the dark smudges, and tilts his head back. "I'm so fucking tired..."

Lance presses his lips to his neck, unable to stop himself. "I'm gonna give you a hickey that says 'I love you'," Lance mumbles against Keith's neck, arms wrapping around his waist.

"Do it later," Keith whines, pushing Lance off. Lance frowns and moves his head, arms still around Keith's waist. "'m tired."

"Ye-"

"Lance," He startles at the sound of Hunk's voice, magically appearing behind him. "Don't-"

"'m fine," Keith mutters, practically throwing himself onto Lance. "Just a few bruises."

_Did I hit him that hard?_

"Sorr-"

"'s fine. Le's sleep."

Lance chuckles, pulling Keith's arms off of him, turning around and bending over, refusing to meet Hunk's eye. "Get on."

Keith mumbles his consent, slowly lifting himself to get on Lance's back. When he is, he straightens, smiling at Hunk. "Hunk," Keith mumbles, chin on Lance's shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Come with."

He does.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> hey  
> yeah  
> crappy ending, ik  
> my original goal was 6k...  
> here we are at 28k.  
> lmao hope you enjoyed.  
> BYE, GONNA WORK ON OTHER SHIT NOW  
> ALSO; THE LANGUAGE WAS KOREAN, HE WAS SAYING SHIT LIKE HELP ME, I CANT BREATHE, THIS WAS A MISTAKE. TAKASUTE MEANS HELP IN JAPANESE. FROM GOOGLE TRANSLATE.  
> THT SHOULD BE IT  
> CARINO IS SWEETIE
> 
>  
> 
> edit;  
> if there are any comments of constructive criticism, they will be deleted (if someone does not ask for constructive criticism, don’t give it, on any form of work someone creates).


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